Children of Loss
by XTheSonofHadesX
Summary: The Lotus Hotel, paradise for the right price. Nico collapses in front of the Lotus Hotel and is taken in by the manager, Percy. But is this really paradise?
1. Chapter 1

_I'm not really sure what to put in this author note. Yes, the story was taken down, and yes I'm going to put it back up. As you can see. I am surprised that a lot of you noticed it so fast. And before anyone asks, I'm not really upset. Sure I lost the number one spot in the fandom and a year's worth of reviews, but they are all just words, right? It's also giving me time to work on my two Halloween fics while I get the chapters back up. I'm sure I won't have 700+ reviews by the time we get back to chapter 30, but what are you going to do? If I was doing it to get all that, I would be doing it for the wrong reasons. You guys enjoy the story, and that's what it's all about._

_I will take this time to announce that I now have my own blog, which the link can be found for on my page. Now, what I'm trying to decide on is how I want to fully use it. I could post a few chapters here, and then just move completely there, or I could just use both. As expected, if you want the unedited stuff, you'll want to go to my blog. And one more thing, I have a request or two for my most dedicated readers._

_Warning: Language. Dark content. Innocence lost. Brief nudity(can't get reported for that, suck it)._

_Disclaimer: I own none of the characters._

Chapter 1

Three months. That was how long Nico had been out on the streets after his family kicked him out. His father hadn't about to tolerate a "queer" living under his roof. The man had never been loving, anyways. The bruises that had faded were proof of that. His stomach growled for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past hour. Nico hadn't eaten anything in almost a week. His body was shaking from his lack of sleep, just wanting to collapse wherever he might lie. Most nights he sat in dark alleyways, crying and flinching anytime a noise was heard nearby.

He would have rather been miserable lying to his family than being out here alone. Other homeless people were not friendly. He couldn't go to them, asking for food or shelter. He stayed away from them at all costs, to prevent being rolled for the clothes on his back.

The streets of L.A. were now his home. How was he supposed to survive in such a place? Gangs, rapists, drug dealers, the possibilities of getting killed were endless. Did his parents care so little for him that they had no problem tossing him out into this place? Nico felt the tears building up in his eyes again. Why was he fighting the inevitable? If he just curled up and died this would all be over. He could probably find some broken glass in a dumpster.

Nico bumped into someone roughly. In his weakened state it caused him to fall to the ground, landing in a pile of trash bags. The man that had bumped into him grumbled at Nico, brushed his shirt off, and kept walking. The tears started to fall from Nico's face as he lay in the pile of trash. Why was this happening to him? What had he ever done to deserve this? He was a good kid. He had made good grades in school. He had stopped going after being kicked out. What would be the point in going? Nico was never one to get in trouble. His sister, Bianca, often teased him about how innocent he was. He hadn't even had sex yet, and he was nearing seventeen. So, why had fate deemed it necessary for him to suffer like this?

Sniffling, Nico pulled himself out of the pile of garbage. He stumbled, nearly falling into a streetlight. He looked around at his surroundings. He appeared to be in the high-class part of the city. Maybe he could get lucky and find some leftovers behind a restaurant. Rich people wasted food, right? Nico could only hope they did.

Trying to will his tears away, Nico continued down the sidewalk. He wasn't really familiar with this part of the city, so he wasn't sure where he could go looking for food. He doubted he could find a generous restaurant employee or manager willing to give him a free meal. Not in this city. As Nico was making his way across a street, a taxi sharply turned the corner, Nico dove out of the way, but was splashed by some water as the car drove by. He shook his head, trying to shake the murky water out of his hair. It wasn't like it was going to worsen his appearance. He was already covered in dirt. He hadn't bathed in days. The only chance he got was finding some random source of water and simply drenching himself. He missed his warm shower. He sighed and continued on his way down the busy streets.

As he reached the heart of the rich district, he took notice of a tall hotel building. He estimated it to be around seventy or eighty floors. He wandered closer to the bright building, looking in one of the windows. The room he was looking at was a restaurant, a very nice one. It could be no less than five stars. The people were eating lobster and steak as they carried on in their conversations. It made Nico's mouth water. He forced himself to look away, knowing he couldn't have it. He glanced up at the hotel sign. The Lotus Hotel.

His legs screamed in pain as he tried to walk again. His body was so tired. Just curl up and die, he thought again. It would be easier, and his parents wouldn't miss him. Nobody would. He collapsed against the wall of the hotel, slowly sliding down it until he sat on the ground. He pulled his knees up to his chest and began to cry again. He buried his head into his knees so people wouldn't see him cry. He heard a door swing open, but didn't look up. He looked underneath his arms at the person that walked out, only seeing up to the stranger's knees.

"No, everything is going fine." It was a guy. "Yes, he dropped the package off a few hours ago. I'll ship it over to you if you want." The guy sighed. "No, it wasn't like that." Another pause. "No. He tried grabbing her ass while she was on stage. There was no negotiation with me." He paused again. "Yeah, I...informed him as to the instability of his company's stocks ."

Nico scolded himself for picking this spot to collapse. He didn't want someone to see him like this. People passing by were different, this was someone up close. Something about the boy's voice pulled Nico in, though. He wanted to look up and see who was talking, but didn't want to chance him making eye contact. He would rather the stranger just ignore him and go back inside.

Nico figured he should get up. Try to get away unnoticed. When he moved to stand his head began to spin and he collapsed on to the pavement. His cheek was now throbbing, but he didn't care. He just wanted to lay there. His eyes became heavy and he let them fall shut.

Nico let out a groan as he blinked and found the figure leaning over him. He felt a warm hand brush his bangs out of his face. "Are you ok?" he heard the voice from a moment ago ask.

The door opened again and Nico could make out a smaller figure come out and approach the previous stranger. "Percy, Luke was asking for you. What are you doing out here?"

"Talking to the boss." Nico felt arms reach under him. "Can you get the door for me, Leo?"

The smaller figure stood back up and moved over the door. Strong arms wrapped around Nico and pulled him up to the stranger's, who's name must be Percy, chest. "Sure, boss, but what are you doing with him?"

Nico groaned again, blinking up at this Percy. His face was lifted, so Nico couldn't really make out many features, other than dark hair. "Taking care of him. He looks like he needs food and a place to sleep."

"But-"

"No buts. You act like this is something uncommon around here."

Nico made out the figure of Leo. He was around the same height as Nico. He was of some Hispanic origin. His eyes were peering up at Percy. Percy made his way into the hotel and Nico had to screw his eyes shut from the bright lights above him. Nico heard an elevator ding open and figured they had stepped inside of it. He unconsciously shifted closer to the warm chest that he was being pressed against. Nico blinked his eyes open for a moment. They were in an elevator. Leo looked over at him, giving him a friendly smile. "He's conscious." Nico looked up at his rescuer. Percy glanced down at him. Nico's eyes began to shut again. The last things he saw were warm green eyes staring down at him.

* * *

Nico blinked a few times, allowing his eyes to adjust to the bright room. He was in some kind of fancy suite. His nose immediately caught scent of something cooking. He glanced down at the sofa he was laying on. Everything in this place was nicer than anything his family had back home. He heard a plate clatter against a surface. Out of curiosity, Nico pulled himself off the couch and shuffled through the doorway, lurching towards the smell of food. He found himself in the kitchen. A few loafs of bread sat on a small plate. There was a pot of what was probably soup on the stove. Standing in front of an opened fridge was the tall boy that pulled him off the streets.

He had his back turned and was digging inside of the fridge for something. He finally pulled back, a bottle of water in his hand. He turned back around and immediately noticed Nico in the doorway. "You're awake," the boy said, sitting the bottle on the counter next to the bread. He watched Nico curiously as the small boy stood there, staring at the stack of bread. "It's for you." Nico's eyes snapped up to the tall boy in front of him.

"Wh-What?" Nico choked out, his voice irritated from the lack of use.

The black haired boy turned around and pulled the pot off the stove, pouring its contents into a bowl. He grabbed the bowl and sat it beside the bread and water. "Eat." He gestured at the food in front of him. Nico was going to say no, but his stomach protested. The boy gave him a sympathetic smile and gestured at the food again. Nico silently shuffled on to a stool and pulled the food over to him. He picked up a piece of bread first, slipping it into his mouth. He moaned as it slid down his throat. The other boy silently watched him with interest as Nico ate. "So, what's your name?"

Nico glanced up at him as he swallowed a spoonful of soup. "Nico." He took a swig of water, pulling his eyes away from the other's stare. Percy's gaze was piercing, and and the way his eyes watched him made Nico feel uncomfortable. "Th-Thank you for all of this."

The boy waved it off. "Don't mention it. It isn't an uncommon occurrence around here." Nico went back to chewing on some bread. "I'm Percy by the way."

"T-Thank you, Percy. I guess I'll be on my way after I finish eating."

Percy looked at him curiously. "Why?"

What did he mean why? "Because, I-I don't want to be a burden."

Percy smiled at him, chin supported on his palm. "You are welcome to stay. I don't really feel right tossing you back on the street." His gaze traveled up and down Nico. "How would you like a job? You'll get a free place to live."

Nico nearly choked on his food. This guy he just met was going to offer him a place to live and a job? "I-But you just met me."

Percy shrugged. "Like I said, it isn't an uncommon occurrence around here. Most of the people that work here came from where you were. Now, how old are you, Nico?"

"Sixteen."

Percy nodded. He mumbled something under his breath. "Well, I suppose I can put you in the bar. How do you feel about being a busboy?"

Nico's eyes widened. He nodded his head eagerly. "Yes! That's fine. I'll do whatever you want!"

A sly smile spread over Percy's lips and Nico noticed him bite down on his bottom lip for a brief second. "I'm sure," Percy said with a wink. "Now, finish eating and we'll get you cleaned up. You can stay here tonight, and I'll find you a place to stay in the morning."

Nico nodded. He went back to working on his soup as Percy stepped out of the room. He heard Percy move around in another room. When he was done he went in search of the taller male. He found Percy setting some clothes on the sink in a very large bathroom. The centerpiece of the room was a large square Jacuzzi styled bathtub with two shower heads and a variety of dials coming out of the walls that stood over the tub. Percy looked over his shoulder at Nico and motioned for the boy to come in. Nico rubbed his arm as he walked forward, clearly uncomfortable. He hadn't really had any social interaction since he had gotten kicked out, and it felt odd to him now.

He came into the bathroom and stood in front of Percy. He now noticed how tall the boy was. He had to be around six foot three. Nico barely came up to the boy's shoulders. He smiled down at Nico before lifting the boy's shirt over his head. Nico turned red as his shirt was tossed to the floor. He squeaked as he felt Percy's hands on the button of his pants. He tried to pull the hand off, but Percy swatted Nico's hand away. "Relax. I'm not going to rape you. Your body is still exhausted, though. You probably aren't going to be comfortable with it, but I'm going to stay in here to make sure you get cleaned up. I don't want you passing out while you are in the tub." Nico gulped as he stared up into Percy's eyes.

Percy finally got his pants off, pulling each of Nico's legs up and tossing the jeans next to Nico's shirt. When he moved for Nico's boxers Nico instinctively clutched them. Percy let out a chuckle. "I-I can do this myself."

Percy moved his hands back, holding them up defensively. "Fine, but I'm still going to watch and make sure you get yourself cleaned up."

Nico nodded his consent. Percy stepped around Nico and stood in the doorway. Self-consciously, Nico slid his boxers off, feeling Percy's gaze on him. When he moved to turn on the water Percy stopped him. He adjusted the water to what he felt was appropriate and stepped back once again. Nico slowly lowered one leg into the water, flinching a little at the warmth.

As he slid the rest of his body in, he let out a long sigh. He could already see the dirt coming off of him and dirtying the water. A rag was lowered in front of his face. "Thanks," Nico mumbled as he took the rag from Percy. There was a long silence as Nico went about cleaning his body. "Why are you doing this? You don't even know me."

Percy had an unreadable look on his face as he stared into Nico's eyes. "I don't have to know you to know what you have gone through." The two went back to silence after that. When Nico set his rag down, Percy stepped forward to drain the tub. Nico's eyes widened as the boy slid his shirt off.

"Wh-Wha-What are you doing?"

Percy reached down and pulled Nico up into a standing position. He reached out and turned on the shower head. Nico flinched as the water hit his skin. He hated being this exposed in front of someone he had just met, but Percy was at least being nice enough to keep his eyes averted from his lower body. "You need to wash your hair and finish getting off any dirt off your body." Percy handed Nico some shampoo.

The entire time Nico washed his hair, Percy kept a calloused hand resting on his back. After he was done, Percy leaned Nico's head forward to wash the shampoo out himself. After that he shut off the water and stepped out, handing Nico a large towel. Nico sighed into it as he pressed it against his face. He heard Percy chuckle. He raised the towel to his hair and quickly dried it the best he could. After that he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist, finally glad to be covered once again. "Thanks again," Nico said politely.

Percy gave him a lopsided smile. "I laid you some clothes here. You can borrow some more of mine in the morning. I'll have Leo go get you some stuff to hold you over for a few days until you can support yourself here."

"Thanks," Nico replied, brushing his black hair out of his face. Percy nodded, turned around, and walked out of the bathroom. Nico sighed in relief. Percy made him uncomfortable. He was a stranger sure, but his eyes were just so seductive. Nico didn't even think Percy was trying, he just radiated sex appeal. He was definitely the most attractive guy that Nico had ever laid eyes on.

Nico picked up the clothes that Percy had laid out on the sink. A dark blue shirt, a pair of blue boxers, and some black track shorts. Nico removed the towel from around his waist. He grabbed the pair of boxers and had just slipped them on when Percy returned. He smiled at Nico before reaching down and picking up Nico's clothes. "I'll wash these for you. If you want to keep them," Percy said, looking at Nico.

Nico shrugged. "I guess. So, I don't have to burden you for clothes."

Percy looked back down at the clothes. "Well, they are pretty torn. I think I'd prefer you wearing mine. I'll just toss them." Nico nodded and Percy left again, clothes in hand. Nico slipped the rest of the clothes on and went to find Percy again. He felt like a lost puppy.

He nearly bumped in to Percy as he made his way down the hall and back into the kitchen. Percy smiled down at him, causing him to blush. Damn him and his sex appeal. Percy held the water out to him. Nico took it and mumbled his thanks. Percy grinned wider at Nico's shyness.

Percy moved into the living room as Nico followed closely behind. He sat down on the couch, patting it for Nico to sit. As Nico sat down beside him, Percy flipped his TV on. It was bigger than all the TVs in Nico's parents house combined. It had to be at least fifty inches. Percy silently flipped through the channels trying to find something to watch. "You'll have to work on your shyness," he said while keeping his eyes on the TV. "You'll be dealing with a lot of people up in the bar."

"Ok," Nico mumbled. "What do you do around here?"

Percy hummed to himself. "I...sort of run things around here. I manage everything at this hotel, as well as some of the other branches."

"How many are there?"

Percy laughed. "Well, they are all over the world, but I am in charge of the ones here in North America." Nico gaped at him. The person in charge of this place had taken him in? "I found a lot of the workers here like I found you."

"You just take them in off the street? What if they robbed you?"

Percy eyed him funny, trying to hide a smile. "Are you going to rob me?" Nico shook his head, and Percy burst out laughing. "I was kidding. No, I don't worry about that. My boss, she kind of has a way with people to make sure they know to behave. She's cool, though. You'll love her. She is the one who started the hotel chain. She is the only person I have to answer to, which is cool. She visits, from time to time, but her main facility is in Germany." Nico nodded, trying to fight a yawn. Percy smiled and patted his leg. "I'll let you get some sleep," he said, turning off the TV.

He walked out of the room and came back soon after with a blanket and a pillow. He handed them to Nico and went into the kitchen to turn off the light. "Thanks again, Percy. This means a lot."

Percy gave him a sad smile. "Don't thank me just yet, kid." With that he turned off the light and went back into his bedroom. Nico just lay there in the darkness for a while. What did that mean, "yet"? Nico didn't have long to dwell on it, as he felt his eyes grow heavy and he quickly drifted off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Nico was startled awake by the sound of the door closing. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. He stretched, allowing his bones to pop. He swung his legs over the side of the couch. He heard a loud clang come from in the kitchen and decided to go check it out. The short boy from the night before stood in the kitchen, currently flipping pancakes. "Morning," he said cheerfully.

"Morning," Nico mumbled back. He shuffled to the stool he had sat on last night and watched the boy work. "Are you Leo?"

The boy flashed a bright smile. "Yep, that's me. Percy told me to get you some breakfast."

"Was that him leaving?" Nico asked, gesturing towards the front door. Leo nodded. He sat the pan with the pancake on it back on the stove. He pulled off another pan with some bacon on it. He scooped them off and placed them on a plate, sliding it towards Nico.

"Percy told me to tell you to eat that slowly, least you wish to throw that back up. Your stomach is gonna take some time to get used to eating again." Nico nodded. He picked up a piece and broke off a small piece into his mouth.

"So, what is it you do around here?"

"I'm Percy's secretary. I run errands and answer some calls for him. Deal with emails for the hotel. Basically, I just make his job as easy as possible. I'll drop you off with your new boss after you eat and get cleaned up. Percy said he left you a change of clothes in the bathroom."

Leo picked the pancake pan back up, gave it one more flip, and scooped the food out to put on Nico's plate. He slid some syrup over for the boy to use. "My boss?" Nico asked, mouth full of bacon. "Percy isn't my boss?"

"Well, yes and no. He's the boss of everyone around here, but he has people running parts of the hotel. You will be working with Chiron, the bartender. He's really nice. You'll like him." Nico nodded.

"So, Percy does this a lot? Take in people from the streets."

Leo gave a nod. "Yeah, most of the young people around here, which are most of the people you'll be working with."

"Why does he do it?" Nico asked, cutting a small piece of his pancake.

Leo fumbled with the spatula. "I-I don't know if I should talk about it. Long story."

"Oh." Leo cleaned up the kitchen while Nico finished eating. He took Nico's plate when he was finished, and Nico got up to go get a shower. Sure enough there was a change of clothes sitting on the sink when he arrived.

He showered as quickly as possible without exerting himself too much. He looked at himself in the mirror when he stepped out. His body had suffered from those three months on the streets. His ribs had begun to show, and there were dark circles around his eyes. He looked so frail. He got dressed so he wouldn't have to look at his body.

The clothes were obviously too big for him. The shirt was probably one of Percy's old shirts, because it was only slightly big on him. The pants, however, were threatening to fall off his waist. He walked back into the living room and found Leo on the couch watching TV. "I need a belt," Nico stated. Leo looked over at him and hopped off the couch.

"I think I can find you one. Wait right here." He disappeared down the hall and into Percy's bedroom. Nico was curious as to what it looked like, given the extravagant look of the rest of the place. Leo emerged moments later with a black belt. "Here you go." Nico took the belt, sliding it through the loops of the pants. "I actually brought you something from my room." Leo walked over to the front door and pulled a pair of shoes from the floor. "I didn't think you'd be able to wear Percy's shoes, so I brought you some of mine."

"Thanks," Nico said with a smile. "Is everyone nice around here?"

Leo rubbed the back of his head. "Everyone except the Castellan brothers. You'll meet them eventually. For now, try and stick to me and Chiron. Apollo is really nice too, if you can find him."

"What about Percy?"

"You'll probably have the hardest time seeing him." Leo gave Nico a look. "You don't...have a crush on him, do you?"

Nico felt his cheeks heat up. "N-No! He just saved me, that's all."

Leo gave him a cheeky grin. "If you say so. I'll just say be careful if you do have one." Leo cleared his throat. "Anyways, I should get you down to Chiron. I have to get going so I can do some shopping for you." Nico nodded and the two made their way out of the suite. They made their way down the hall towards the elevators. Leo pressed the button when they arrived. "If you do need to find Percy, or myself when I'm working, you'll find us here. Percy lives and works on this floor."

The elevator dinged and opened. They walked in and Leo slipped his keycard into the slot below the long list of buttons before hitting the button to the floor above them, the sixty-ninth floor. They stepped out of the elevator and into the bar. The bar itself ran the entire length of the far wall. Behind it were shelves covered in every type of alcohol in existence. There were expensive looking wooden tables all around the room, with chairs placed on top of them. In the two corners not being taken up by the bar were lounging areas with the same type of couches that were in Percy's living room. A few pictures hung around the walls for decoration. Five TVs sat around on the walls. Three on the outer walls and two behind the bar.

A tall man with a small beard stood behind the bar, scrubbing a glass. He looked up and smiled warmly at Leo and Nico as they approached. "I take it this is my new charge?" the man asked.

"Yep, he's all yours Chiron." Leo pulled out his phone to check the time. "Well, I need to get going." He patted Nico on the shoulder and headed back to the elevator. "Take care of him, Chiron."

Chiron chuckled and looked back at Nico. The man had a warm face. He had deep brown eyes that reminded Nico of a warm fire. His brown hair was well groomed. He was tall, taller than Percy. Probably around six foot five. If he didn't appear to be so warm natured Nico would have been intimidated looking up at him. He also had a small scruffy beard. All in all, Nico would have to say the man came across as a father figure. He already liked the man better than his own father, and this guy hadn't even spoken to him directly yet.

"Well then, shall we get you to work?" Chiron said, placing the glass back on to the bar. "More will be coming up to get to work soon. I just need to give you the run down before everything starts up around here." He placed his hands on the bar and smiled at Nico. "Now then, things will be very busy around here at night. You will work into the late hours of the morning, so expect to get off no earlier than three or four." Nico let out a groan. "Welcome to the night life, child." Chiron gave a chuckle.

"What kind of people can I expect? This place looks like it would be expensive."

"That it is. However, that means you'll find yourself with a nice paycheck. As for customers, we get all kinds of men and women. Businessmen, politicians, actors, musicians, you name it and we probably cater to them. Now, as I said, you won't be working alone. We are pretty busy at night, so there will be a few people running around with you. They, uh, change from night to night, depending on the schedules Percy gives them." Chiron clapped his hands together. "Now then, let us get you to work. I need you to start setting those chairs down. We will start seeing customers around lunch, so hop to it." Nico nodded quickly and set off to work.

* * *

_So, you might be wondering how I'm going to go about uploading chapters. Well, like I said, I'm going to be busy this month with two Halloween projects. So, I'm going to post maybe two chapters a week until we get caught back up. And I know that will take some time, but it'll give me a chance to work on other things. Bragi and I have spent the day talking, and I might have some new surprises on the way. Remember to keep an eye on my blog. Also, I'm sorry I didn't get to reply to a lot of reviews before the story got taken down, I've just been busy lately. But, yeah, don't worry, the story isn't going anywhere and neither am I. I'm not angry and you guys shouldn't be either. It's just a story that can be put back up. I can also use this time to correct some grammatical errors that I found that slipped through :D_

_In other news, who has heard about the recent House of Hades spoiler? It seems our sweet little Nico is not as straight as believed him to be. I've said this before, if his sexuality is not stated, do not presume to know it. But yeah, if you have not heard, it seems like our Nico had a crush on Percy at one point, and still might. This is only still a rumor, until confirmed by the final release. But it's definitely putting everyone into an uproar. I started laughing, reading through some comments. Apparently, Percabeth fans aren't so secure in the strength of their couple. Sadly, I don't expect it to go anywhere, I just think it'll be Nico crushing on Percy and not having his feelings returned. That's just Nico's life._

_So yeah, point being: don't worry, it's not a huge deal. I'll see you lovely people later. Don't forget to follow and favorite the story again, and feel free to leave me a review if you want._


	2. Chapter 2

_I think I might have gotten more reviews on that first chapter than I did the first time around. I do have the House of Hades in my hands! I shall be reading it over the next few days, but I can confirm that the Nico rumor was true. Seems our little boy is crushing on our savior of Olympus. Or was, we'll see. And if you didn't know, that says a lot for Rick Riordan, regarding homosexuality. If you didn't know, he's stated before that Nico is one of his favorite characters. So, to possibly make one of his favorite characters gay/bi is quite remarkable. Or perhaps just curious at his young age. Either way, it says a lot about the man, and I say good for him._

_Also, just incase you are wondering, nothing is going to change with the plot of this story. All I'm going to do is fix a few errors that were in the old chapters. But thank you all for the reviews, I honestly was not expecting the old chapters to get that many. I do still need to reply to a few, though, so don't worry if I haven't gotten to yours yet. I've been busy working on my first Halloween fic this year. Anyways, I'm going to go dive into either a game or my new book, I'll see you at the bottom._

_Warning: _

Chapter 2

It was around ten when the elevator dinged again. Nico looked up as he placed the last chair on the floor. A girl and two guys exited the elevator. The boys looked completely identical, the only difference being one being a mere inch taller. They had curly brown hair that hung down into their blue eyes. They wore identical mischievous smiles. If they had been on the streets, Nico would have guessed that they were pickpockets. The girl had shoulder length brown hair. She was dark skinned, possibly of Native American descent. She was a head shorter than the two boys next to her. Her eyes were a deep hazel like color, Nico wasn't sure if her eyes were brown or green. They were very pretty, though.

The twins said something and made the girl laugh as they set their things down at the bar. The shorter twin nudged his brother, having noticed Nico. The taller one looked down and the shorter one jutted his chin out in Nico's direction. Now all eyes were on Nico, making him fidget under all the attention. Chiron came to his rescue by clearing his throat. "It's about time you all got here. Now, as you can see, we have a new person on staff. I'd like all three of you to welcome Nico." Nico gave a small wave at them.

The three of them made their way over to Nico. The girl's smile was warm and friendly, while the two boys still sported crooked grins. "Hello, Neeks, I'm Travis," the taller twin said. He held his hand out and Nico shook it. "So, your Percy's new adoptee, eh? He sure knows how to pick 'em."

The girl rolled her eyes, elbowing Travis in the ribs. "Don't mind him, Nico, the two of them are nothing but trouble. I'm Piper," Nico smiled at her and shook her hand.

"We take offense to that, Pipes," the shorter twin said. Piper tossed him a glare, but he didn't seem bothered by it. "Don't listen to her. We're awesome. The name's Connor, by the way." Nico shook his hand as well and went back to fidgeting with his shirt.

"So, is he...?" Piper asked curiously, looking back at Chiron.

The man shook his head. "No. Percy told me he will be at the bar only."

The twins grinned wickedly at Nico. "Lucky dog. You must have really drawn Percy's attention," Connor stated.

Piper rolled her eyes again. "That doesn't have to be the case. So, how old are you, Nico?"

"Sixteen, but I'll be seventeen in a few months."

"See. There's your explanation."

The twins simultaneously placed their hands behind their heads. "Whatever you say, Piper," they said at the same time. It creeped Nico out.

"You've gotten to know one another, now, it is high time you got to work," Chiron interrupted, wiping down the bar. "The customers will be getting here soon." The three newcomers nodded and scurried off around the bar. "Here, Nico." Chiron held out a black apron for Nico to take. Nico tied it around his waist. There was a pen and pad in one of the pockets. "Now, I need you to go set up the board at the entrance so that it displays tonight's drink specials." Nico nodded and scurried off.

As it approached noon the first customer arrived. He was a middle-aged man with thinning black hair and a scruffy beard. He was a little on the pudgy side. He took his place at one of the tables. Nico looked nervously at the man, unsure of who was supposed to go take care of him. Piper saved him and walked up to the man, smiling warmly at him. She wrote down the man's order and walked off to the bar, tossing a wink at Nico on her way.

The elevator dinged again and a few more people scattered themselves about the bar. Nico sighed, grabbed his pad and went over to one of the tables. His table consisted of two women, probably in their early thirties. Both of them were dressed in expensive business suits. "Hello, my name is Nico, and I will be your waiter today," Nico said with a bright smile, willing himself to sound friendly to these strangers. The two of them looked up from their menus to stare at Nico, making him uncomfortable. He didn't like the way they stared at him. It wasn't rude or anything, there was just something unspoken in their eyes that made him uncomfortable.

The woman on the right, a blonde, looked back at her menu. "Yes, I'll have a number five, a water, and a margarita." Nico nodded, scribbling down the woman's order.

The woman on the left, a brunette, stared at Nico a little longer. "You're new here?"

"Yes, ma'am," Nico answered politely.

She nodded her head in approval. "I'll have a Cesar salad with dressing on the side and a diet coke."

"Will there be anything else?" Nico asked. The women shook their heads and Nico walked back to the bar. He typed the order in to the computer like Chiron had showed him. It sent the order down to the kitchen where the staff would deliver the order up to the bar. He jumped slightly at the sound of music. He turned to find Connor adjusting the sound system.

"Jumpy much?" Connor chuckled. Nico shrugged. "Yeah, well, you better get used to the noise. It'll be pretty loud tonight." He finally seemed to be satisfied with it and backed off the system. "Though, it doesn't compare to the noise level upstairs."

Nico eyed him out of the corner of his eye as he prepared the women's drinks. "What's on the top floor?"

Connor grinned at Nico, looking like the Cheshire cat. "Nothing you need to worry about."

Time slowly drifted by and it neared Nico's break time. He would get a few hours off until he had to report back for the night shift. Something he had noticed was some of his three co-workers' customers were very generous with their tips.

Leo showed up to collect Nico at four. He signed out and quickly followed the boy back to the elevator. "So, how was your first shift?" Leo asked once they were inside.

"Not too bad."

"Night shift is always more hectic. Let me see who you'll be on shift with tonight." Leo pulled out his phone and scrolled through it. "Hmm. You are on duty with Reyna, Octavian, Thalia, and Apollo tonight."

"Any tips?"

Leo slid his phone back in his pocket as they exited on to the sixty-seventh floor. "Yeah, Apollo and Thalia will be your go to people. Thalia is a tough girl, and nobody really messes with her. She's friendly, though. Apollo is like the big brother around here. Reyna isn't so bad, but she can come off as a little cold. I'd suggest staying away from Octavian. He's one of the Castellan brothers I mentioned." Nico nodded his understanding. They came in front of a door and Leo slid a keycard into the slot. He opened the door and handed the card to Nico. "Welcome to your new home."

Nico looked around the place. It wasn't as nice as Percy's, but it still was better than his parents' house. He had a flatscreen opposite the couch. There was a nice kitchen over to the right. In the back were three doors. "Do I share this with anyone?"

Leo shook his head. "Nope, it is all yours. Well, for now anyways. You're lucky enough to be the odd man out. Until we get another boy, you'll be here by yourself. You can pick whichever bedroom you like, and the middle door over there is the bathroom." Nico made his way to the first door on the left. He opened it to find a really nice bedroom. The bed was king sized with five pillows on it. There was another TV in this room as well, but it was a few inches smaller than the one in the other room. There was an opened door leading into a walk-in closet, it had a full length mirror on the inside of the door. In a corner a box caught his eye. He picked it up and put it on the bed. He opened it to find an assortment of clothes and toiletries. "That should get you by for a while. You can go shopping on your own when you get your first paycheck."

Nico smiled as he fell back on his new bed. It was like a cloud. He sighed contently. Maybe suffering on the streets had been worth it after all. This was heaven. Something did bring him down from his high, though. He looked over at Leo. "Leo?"

The boy looked up from his phone at the dark headed boy. "Hmm?"

"What's on the top floor?"

"Oh. It's nothing important. Don't worry about it. You'll never have to go up there."

Nico frowned. Why were people being evasive about this question? "So, what is there to do around here?"

"You have access to everything the hotel has to offer. Most of the stuff is on the lower levels. The pool, the game room, spa, and much more. You can even go to the kitchen and request whatever you want. As one of Percy's finds, you have pretty much unrestricted access to things around here. There are a few obvious exceptions like the top floor and Percy's office. You can only go to Percy's office with an appointment, which you can make through me."

Nico nodded. "So, I'm free to do what I want until I go back at six?"

"Yep. So, make yourself at home and just make sure you get back to the bar on time. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to Percy." Leo tossed him a final smile before leaving the room. Nico heard the front door shut and let out a loud sigh. He stood back up and figured he might as well unpack his new things.

* * *

The sun had started to sink below the horizon. Nico watched it from his place at the window. The view of the city was so amazing from up here. Nico couldn't help smiling to himself. He checked the time, he had ten minutes. He figured he should get up to the bar and get ready.

He closed the door to his new place behind him and got back in the elevator. He inserted his keycard and when he went for the button his finger lingered over the button to floor seventy, but he shook his head and hit sixty-nine. When the doors opened again Nico found the bar much more crowded. Connor had been right about it being louder at night. With all the new people and the music playing it was almost deafening. Piper and the twins were still running around, serving the customers. He made his way through the crowded area to the bar. He signed in and tied his apron back around him.

"Back for round two?" Chiron asked next to him, a smile on his face.

Nico nodded. Piper sighed, coming to stand next to Nico. He moved aside so she could sign out. "Wish me luck tonight, Chiron," she said.

Chiron chuckled, pouring a drink for someone. "You don't need luck, girl. All of you have natural talent." The twins came over and peered upside down at the computer to sign out.

"Have fun tonight, Nico. Don't miss us too much," Travis said.

"I'll try my best," Nico mumbled back sarcastically.

Connor laughed. "I like him already."

Two girls came through the crowd and came behind the bar. Nico guessed they were two of his co-workers. The taller of the two had long black hair with tan skin. She had piercing dark eyes, which slightly reminded Nico of Percy's eyes, but weren't as warm. There was a small tattoo on her right wrist. It looked to be a crossed sword and torch. She wore a very serious expression on her face as she signed in, not paying Nico any attention as he stared at her.

The shorter of the two, however, had her gazed locked on the new boy. She had shoulder length black hair, which was spiked out at the tips all around her head. She had electric blue eyes that pierced through Nico as she watched him. Her attire set her apart from any of the others Nico had seen. She was dressed in punk clothing, tight fitting black shirt, loose jeans, and combat boots. She had a few freckles scattered across her face and a tiny nose ring in her right nostril.

"Who's the new kid?" the shorter girl asked. The taller one finally looked over at him, looking as if she hadn't even noticed him there before.

"He's Percy's new boy toy," Travis said with a sly smirk. This earned him an elbow to the ribs from Piper.

"Percy found him last night. He's our new family member," Piper stated. "Bar only." The two new girls nodded an understanding, something that Nico wondered at. Why was it important to know he only worked in the bar?

The punk girl held her hand out to Nico. "The name is Thalia." Nico shook her hand with a small smile. There was something about the girl that he liked.

The taller one extended her hand next, and Nico took it and shook it. She had a firm grip. "Reyna."

"Well, sorry to run, but the three of us have to get to the night shift," Piper informed them. The two girls nodded at them and Nico gave them a small wave as they exited to the elevator.

Nico walked out from behind the bar and headed over to a table that two men had just sat at. "Hello, I'm Nico and I'll be your server this evening." The two men nodded at him and gave Nico their drink orders. Nico looked up from his pad as the elevator dinged again. A tall blond made his way through the crowd and behind the bar. The boy was skinny, but with the looks of a runner. His blond hair hung down into his crazed looking blue eyes. He had a bored expression plastered on his face. His pale skin stood out in the dark lighting. Something about his appearance made Nico feel uneasy.

Nico walked over to Chiron and gave the man the new drink orders. "Nico, this is Octavian," Chiron said, gesturing to the blond tying an apron around his waist. The blond didn't say anything, just nodded his head in Nico's general direction, not even looking at the new boy. He took his pad and went out into the crowd to start taking orders. "Don't mind him. He and his brother aren't the friendliest."

"So I've heard," Nico mumbled back. Chiron handed him the two drinks and Nico took them back over to the table. Out of the corner of his eye he noticed the man on his right lean over to check out his back side. Nico fought the urge to place his hands over his butt to cover it. The man made a face of approval and pulled a five out of his wallet and slipped it to Nico. He stared at it for a moment before slipping it into his apron and walking off.

When Nico returned to the bar with another order, another tall blond sat at the bar chatting with Chiron. Nico thought he was a customer at first, until he saw the apron around his waist. He was close to Percy's height, probably around six foot two. He had gorgeous cerulean eyes that shined like a sapphire gleaming in the sun. His smile was breathtaking and his teeth were pure white. He had sun kissed skin and a swimmer build. His curly blond hair sat perfectly on the top of his head.

"Well, who's this cutie?" the new guy asked, taking notice of Nico.

"Ah, this is our newest addition. Nico, this is Apollo," Chiron said, gesturing between the two of them. Apollo tossed Nico a bright smile and held his hand out. Nico shook his hand, but before he could pull it away Apollo pulled it up and kissed his hand with a wink.

"Percy sure knows how to pick them."

Nico blushed deeply, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks," he mumbled, making Apollo's grin grow. He took the drinks Chiron handed him and went back into the crowd of people.

Around midnight, Percy came into the bar. He sat down at the bar in front of Chiron. Nico headed over to give Chiron another order, but stopped a few paces away when he heard Apollo talking to Percy. "So, Percy, how about we talk about getting me some more time in the big boys' club."

Percy let out a sigh. "You know I don't like to talk about that outside of my office or upstairs. Your time slots are fine. Why the complaints?"

Apollo shrugged. "One can never have too much time. School is expensive, you know. Then there is that car I was talking to you about."

Percy chuckled at him. "Fine. I'll put you down for tomorrow night. You can come by my floor after you get off and we'll figure something out." Apollo winked at him and walked off. Nico let out a breath and walked up to the bar. Percy smiled at him when he noticed him. "Hey, Nico, you enjoying your new life?"

Nico gave Percy a nod. "Yeah. Thank you so much."

"Don't mention it," Percy said, taking a drink from whatever Chiron had given him. Chiron handed Nico a new set of drinks and Nico picked them up. Percy gave him a wink as Nico walked off. Nico was blushing as he was walking and not paying attention to what he was doing. He clumsily tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground, drinks flying everywhere. A nearby man got drenched and started yelling at Nico.

"I'm so sorry!" Nico exclaimed, quickly standing up and trying to clean up his mess.

"Why don't you watch what you are do-" the man started, but trailed off as he looked over Nico's shoulder. Nico was shocked at first, but looked over his shoulder to find Percy glaring at the man. The man gulped and sat back down. "It's fine. Don't worry about it." Nico fumbled to pick up the broken glass. He managed to cut himself trying to pick up one piece. Someone's hand reached down to pick up the remaining pieces.

Nico looked up to see Thalia crouched down in front of him. "Don't sweat it, Nico. We all messed up on our first day here." She chuckled. "This probably won't be your last slip up. It takes a lot of practice."

Nico nodded at her. "Thanks," he said as she sat the last pieces of glass on his now empty tray. "Any advice?" They stood back up and she walked with him back to the bar so he could dump the broken glasses.

"Keep your tables memorized. Keep your nose out of the customers' business. Your job is to make them all happy, so put on a pretty face and give them what they want." She gave him a once over. "You're cute, so you can try working your looks to get better tips. It's all about playing the game right. Do it right, and you make some big bucks." Nico nodded again as he dropped the broken glass in the trash.

Chiron already had remade the drinks when Nico was done dumping the shards. "Don't sweat it, Nico. You'll get the hang of it," Percy said. Nico ducked his head to hide the blush, but Percy seemed to notice it and smiled brightly at him. Percy placed some bills on the counter and stood up. "I gotta get back to work. You'll take care of him for me, won't you Chiron?" Chiron smiled and nodded a single time, busy pouring some more liquor. Percy winked at Nico and walked off.

"My my, aren't you the boss's new favorite play thing." Nico looked up to find Octavian scowling at him. "So, you must have a pretty good ass if he's giving you so much attention." A loud thud came from behind him and Octavian screwed his face up in pain. Apollo was standing behind the other blond, a dark glare in place on his face.

"Leave the kid alone. Now, how about you take your dirty mouth off of Percy's dick and get your ass back to work, or is it too abused for you to manage walking?" Octavian's nostrils flared and he mumbled something under his breath. However, he didn't say anything else to Nico and walked off. "Don't let him bother you, kid. You should meet his brother. Octavian is rainbows and sunshine compared to Luke."

Nico placed some drinks and food on his tray while watching Apollo talk. "Thanks. So I've heard everyone refer to this as a family. Are all of you close?"

Apollo gave a nod. "Yeah, we all came from similar situations. So, we sort of bonded. We would even stick our necks out for Luke and Octavian, as hard as that may be to believe. Everyone looks out for each other here." He stared off blankly at nothing in particular with a short pause. "You sort of have to, in order to make it through things."

Nico picked the tray up, almost tipping it over, but Apollo grabbed it and steadied it. "What do you mean? Everything seems so nice here."

Apollo gave him a small smile. "Ah, the life of a newbie." He patted Nico on the shoulder. "Don't lose that innocence, kid." Without another word he turned and walked over to a table full of women, who laughed flirtatiously at Apollo as he joined them. Nico forced himself to look away and make his way back to the crowd of tables and people. He stopped for a moment, trying to remember which table had given the order. His eyes came across Reyna, who pointed to her right. Nico looked over to find it was the table he was looking for. He mouthed a thank you to her, which she shrugged off.

Nico set the drinks down and placed the plate down in front of a heavy set woman. "Actually, I'm the one that ordered that," the man across from her said. Nico felt his cheeks burn at his mess up.

"Sorry about that," Nico replied, correcting his mistake.

* * *

The last customer finally boarded the elevator and the doors shut. Thalia let her head fall on to the wooden bar and groaned loudly, Reyna patted her on the back. Chiron was busy counting out the money as the younger workers stood around on the outside of the bar. "So, how was your first day, Nico?" Apollo asked, turning to look at Nico with his chin propped up by his palm.

"Rough. Is it always busy like this?" All of them nodded. Nico groaned, letting his head fall back.

"This is nothing," Octavian scoffed. Thalia shot him a look, which Nico thought looked like a warning. "What? I didn't say anything. I'm just saying that this isn't the hard job." Apollo raised a half-finished drink to his lips and took a long quaff.

"Amen to that," the other blond stated. He raised his glass. "To the jobs that pay the bills." He had a sly smile on his face. The others smiled at him and started laughing. Nico just stood there in confusion.

Chiron eventually dismissed them and they all boarded the elevator. Nico stared at the button for the seventieth floor as Reyna hit the button for the sixty-seventh floor. "So do you guys work during the day?" Nico asked as they rode down.

"On weekends. That or we catch up on sleep," Thalia said, leaning against the wall of the elevator. "Most of us actually go to college." Nico made a face and they all laughed.

"What? You thought because we all were on the streets that we were uneducated? No. Percy encourages us to go to school and get an education, letting us study whatever we want," Reyna said.

"I-I didn't mean it to sound like that," Nico said quietly.

"It's cool, dude," Apollo said, slinging an arm over Nico's shoulder. "Not all of us choose to go, but most of us do. The ones that don't will usually work with you during the weekdays." He paused, looking Nico over. "How old are you anyways?"

"Sixteen."

"Then, Percy is going to pretty much force you into school," Reyna stated. It kind of came to a shock to Nico. He had thought his education was over, but now, on top of all this wonderful stuff, he was going to get to stay in school. The door dinged open and they all stepped out. The girls bid them farewell as they went down the hall opposite from the boys'.

"So, I'm expected to stay in school?"

The two blonds looked over at him. "How long were you on the streets?" Apollo asked. "Most of us don't say we get to 'stay in school'. Most of us were out on the streets for a very long time before Percy found us."

"Some never even went to school at all," Octavian added.

"I was on the streets for around three months," Nico replied.

"It sucks, for whatever reason you were out there. People just don't understand what living out on the streets is really like. Especially in a city like this," Apollo said, with a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Well, then yes, Percy will make sure you stay in school. He'll enroll you in one nearby, more than likely. That way you can have the full new life experience." Octavian stopped at his door and the two bid him goodnight as he entered his room. Nico caught sight of someone inside, but the door shut before he could get a look at the boy.

They made their way down the hall and stopped at Nico's door. "Well, this is my room," Nico said.

"I'll be sure to keep it memorized," Apollo said with a smile. "If you need me, I am down the hall on the right." Nico nodded and opened his door. Apollo waved at him as he shut the door. Nico let out a long sigh as he fell back against the door. It really had been a long day. He groaned as he looked over at the clock. It was nearing five in the morning.

He shed his clothes as he made his way to his new bedroom. He would clean them up later to give back to Percy. Right now he just wanted to sleep. He plopped down face first on his bed and sighed contently at the perfect feel of it. He rolled over to the box that Leo had given him. He pulled out a toothbrush and toothpaste from inside of it.

He dragged himself off the bed and out into the hall. He stepped into the bathroom for the first time. It was heaven sent. The sink had a porcelain top to it and dark wooden cabinets below it. There was a vanity mirror above it. On the other side of the bathroom was a shower with see through glass walls. There was a large bathtub next to it. It wasn't like Percy's bathroom, but it would certainly do. He ran his toothbrush under the faucet and brushed at his teeth as he looked around the beautifully sculpted room.

He came back into his bedroom and turned off the lights. He climbed into bed and pulled the covers over him. It was even better laying underneath them. They were so perfectly soft. He usually didn't sleep with so many pillows, but each of them were so different and yet so perfect that he couldn't bring himself to take any off. He sighed a final time as he quickly drifted off into a well earned sleep.

* * *

_It feels weird, looking back at these chapters. They are so much shorter than the more recent ones, which are like thirty pages in length. But I guess it's just testament to how much I changed over the course of writing this story. But it is kind of odd, looking at these, as I said. My old readers already know a large portion of what has happened, and I can only imagine how it feels being reintroduced to people like Apollo, knowing what you do. Or Luke. And that got me thinking, about how frustrating it is sometimes, when you write a new story, using these characters. Readers already know who you're referring to when a character mentions another. It just sort of takes away from the mystery of brining something new to life. And I can see a lot of fun coming out of writing something original. Anyways, that's enough of my ramblings. I'm going to go enjoy my night, probably in the same way most of you will be. I'll see you guys later._


	3. Chapter 3

_Time for another update. Yeah, it took a few days. But, if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm really trying to stretch reposting everything. I literally have nothing new written yet. This entire month is going to be used for writing my Halloween fics, so I need so more time to get new chapters written for everything else. So, that's why I'm going to be taking a few days in between posts, even though I have thirty chapters of this written. I'm also behind in reading at the moment. I'm currently trying to read through a story that Stack of Stories wrote for me. If you like the Will/Nico in this story, you should go check that out._

_I've also noticed the increase in Percy/Nico stories in the fandom, now that HoH is out. And I'm super behind with reading stuff, but I saw some good ones that I know I want to check out. Oh, I forgot to mention this last chapter. Well, not really, I touched on it a little. Anyways, as I said, nothing is going to change plot wise in this story. That includes giving Percy a PoV. Giving Percy a PoV in this story is like giving Nico one in the actual books. It takes away from the mystery of the character that everyone has. And one big thing with Percy in this story is his mystery. You never really know what he's thinking or why he might do something, and I think that adds a lot to the story. It drives you as the reader to try and understand the character on a better level, instead of just having the answers given to you. So that's why Percy or the others don't get their own PoV in this story._

_Warning: Alcohol. Language._

_Disclaimer: I own none of the characters._

Chapter 3

Nico was woken by some loud knocking coming from the front door. He groaned and dragged himself out of bed, not even bothering to put on more clothes. He yawned as he opened the door to find Apollo standing there in a tight red shirt and some black swim trunks. He gave Nico a quick once over before returning his gaze to Nico's eyes. "Aren't you adorable in the morning?" Nico tossed him a death glare. "And a morning person, too."

Nico yawned again. "What do you want?"

"Some of us were going to go down to the pool. You're welcome to join us. It would give you a chance to meet some more of us."

Nico nodded. "Yeah. Just let me change and get cleaned up a little bit."

Apollo tossed him a smile. "Alright, dude. I'll see you down there." With that the blond jogged off down the hall. Nico shut the door again and headed for the bathroom to get a quick shower. Nico didn't see a point in spending much time in it, since he was just going to need another one after swimming.

After he was done, he went back into his bedroom. He faintly recalled seeing a pair of swim trunks in that pile of clothes Leo had given him. After digging in his drawers, he was victorious in finding them. They were completely green, except for a white logo of the Lotus Hotel printed on the bottom of the right leg. He quickly slipped them on, grabbed a towel from the bathroom, and headed out the door.

When he got in the elevator, his eyes immediately landed on the seventieth floor button. It was like the button was taunting him. A quick peek wouldn't hurt, right? He slipped the card Leo had given him into the slot and his finger pressed the button before he could change his mind. The elevator came to a stop a moment later. The doors slid open to a dimly lit hallway. Nico inched out slowly. There were small podiums on the left and right corners where the hall split into two wings. He heard footsteps closing in.

He thought about returning to the elevator, but before he could even turn around, two people had come around the corner from the right wing. The first one he took notice of was a very tall girl, who made Nico think of an amazon warrior. She wasn't frail looking, like most girls. This girl could probably take a tough football player in a fight. She had her long brown hair tied in a ponytail. Her brown eyes reminded Nico of a wild animal.

Next to her stood a slightly shorter guy. He had jet black glossy hair. He was pretty thin, but there were hints of muscles beneath his loose shirt. One of his eyes was dark brown, while the other was covered by a black eyepatch. He was definitely of Japanese descent.

They both narrowed their eye at him. "What are you doing up here?" the girl asked, sounding angry. "No admittance until business hours."

The boy nudged her. "No. I think he's one of Percy's." The girl looked him over. "The one he was talking about, the one he found the other night."

The girl seemed to ease up. "Oh, yeah." She crossed her arms. "You aren't supposed to be up here at all, then. Percy's orders." Nico stared at her in confusion. Why wasn't he allowed up here? The girl turned back to the boy next to her. "Go fetch Percy." The boy nodded and ran off. Nico gulped as the girl just stared blankly at him. He was going to be in trouble. Percy had been generous and had taken him in, he had even provided Nico with a job, and Nico just had to go and get into trouble. Would Percy kick him out? No, Percy didn't seem like the type.

He heard quiet mumbling coming back down the hall and soon the boy with the eyepatch came back around the corner with Percy in tow. Percy's gaze immediately landed on Nico, his eyes clearly upset at him. "What are you doing up here?" Percy asked rather harshly.

"I-I'm sorry. I just got curious," Nico stuttered. Percy's eyes didn't soften. He just huffed and walked forward. He grabbed Nico's arm and dragged him back into the elevator. Without even asking where Nico was going, Percy hit the button to the ground floor. Nico looked up at Percy in shame. Percy wasn't looking at him, his eyes bore into the elevator door. "I'm sorry."

"How did you get up there anyways?"

Nico pulled out the keycard. "Leo gave me a spare until I got my real one." Percy let out a low growl. Nico had the feeling that Leo was in trouble.

"Don't go up there again, Nico." Percy's voice was still harsh. Nico didn't think it was that big of a deal. Why was he so angry? Percy glanced over at him, his eyes softening when he saw Nico's hurt expression. "Sorry for getting upset. You just don't need to be up there. I'm doing you a favor by keeping you out of there."

Nico looked up at him, confused. "Why?"

"Just drop it, ok? Go enjoy your day off." The doors finally opened and Percy pushed against Nico's back to tell him to get out. "Have fun with the others, I'll probably see you tonight." Nico nodded, trying to offer a smile. Percy gave him a small wave as the door closed.

He made his way through the hotel until he found the entrance to the pool. It was an indoor pool, but the entire room was made of glass so that the sun could still shine into it, allowing people to tan if they chose. Since it was still early there weren't that many people there. It looked to be primarily the people that worked there. He spotted Apollo, who was busy laughing as he gave a playful lap dance to an unamused Thalia. He waved over at Nico when he noticed him, beckoning him over.

"Hey, Nico. What took so long?" the blond asked, getting off the scowling black haired girl.

"I-I got a little sidetracked," Nico replied. Which was half true.

Nico looked around at the boys and girls who littered the pool. Apollo was in front, shirt now off. Nico realized he couldn't look too long or he might start drooling. The blond's body was beautifully sculpted. His eyes seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Thalia picked up a book she must have been reading before Apollo had assaulted her. She wore a small blue two piece that barely covered anything.

The twins were laying by the edge of the pool. Connor's head lay on the edge of Travis's stomach. They had sunshades on, so Nico couldn't tell if they were awake or asleep. However, that was the extent of people that Nico recognized. Apollo seemed to remember that Nico didn't know anyone there. "Hey, everyone!" Apollo yelled. Heads all looked over in their direction. "Come say hey to the new kid!" People started climbing out of the pool or off of lounging chairs.

A tall boy of African descent was the first to reach them, immediately reaching his hand out and grabbing Nico's to shake. He was very tall, maybe an inch taller than Percy. He was very muscular too and his grip was strong. His hand completely enveloped Nico's. He had a crew cut and friendly brown eyes. His stomach was a chiseled eight pack. "The name's Charles. This here is my girlfriend, Silena." He gestured towards a shorter girl next to him.

She had long black hair which hung nearly to her waist. She had stunning crystal blue eyes. She was extremely beautiful, and while Nico didn't really go for girls, he had to admit she was gorgeous. She could have easily been a model if she had wanted to. She smiled and held out her hand to shake. Nico returned her smile, blushing slightly, and shook her hand as well.

"Looks like we have a new Lost Boy," she said playfully. Apollo and Charles chuckled, but Nico didn't get it.

A girl around Nico's height walked up to them gracefully. She had long, silky black hair. She had a perfect tan complexion with flawless skin. Her eyes were pure black and she had a slightly upturned nose. Something about her made Nico think she looked like a princess. Her voice was a soothing melody as it played in Nico's ears. "He looks a little innocent to be a Lost Boy." This made Nico shake his head out of his daze. He didn't understand the terminology. She held her hand out and Nico shook it. Her skin was soft like silk. "Zoë."

The twins had come over and sat down on the chairs on Thalia's left. They gave simultaneous waves to Nico. "Now then, let's get back to swimming," Apollo said, picking Nico up bridal style and jumping into the pool. Nico scowled and splashed the blond when they broke the surface. Nico quickly turned away from a splash caused by Charles jumping into the pool. Silena and Zoë sat on the edge of the pool with their feet soaking in the water. The both of them would flip their hair over their shoulder from time to time. From what Nico could hear, they were talking about fashion.

Charles was attempting to wrestle Apollo, but the blond just kicked away and floated to the edge of the pool, out of reach. Nico couldn't help but smile as he watched his new family. He turned when he heard a shriek. The twins had picked Thalia up and were carrying her to the edge of the pool. Her screeching was silenced when she fell beneath the water. She emerged with a scowl, handing her sunglasses to Silena. The twins were rolling with laughter. They grinned at each other and jumped into the pool, splashing everyone.

* * *

After a few hours of swimming, things started to wind down. Charles and Silena had left half an hour ago, and now the rest of them were relaxing in the chairs by the pool. Something Nico had noticed during their time at the pool was that some of the other guests kept staring at them. Some of the guests even winked at the other kids as they passed them by. None of them seemed to mind, as they just waved and winked back.

A tall red haired girl made her way into the room and came over to them. She had frizzy hair and piercing green eyes. Her face was littered with freckles, and she kept tucking her hair behind her ear. She was carrying one of those detachable tablet laptops. She picked up the towel at Nico's feet and tossed it at him. "Sorry to cut the fun short, but I need Nico for a while," the girl said.

"Aww. Come on, Rachel, we were enjoying the day off," Connor whined.

"Sorry. Percy's orders." Nico felt the blood drain from his face. Was he in trouble for earlier? He stood up and slid his shirt on. She took off walking towards the exit and he quickly followed her, tossing a final wave at his new friends. They boarded the elevator and Rachel slid her card into the slot and then hit the sixty-eighth floor button. The elevator began its long trek upwards. Rachel dug out a card from her pocket and handed it to Nico. "Here. This is your new keycard." Nico took the card from her. "I'll need the other one." She held her hand out and Nico reluctantly handed it over to her. He knew his new card wouldn't give him the same access, so there would be no more attempts at sneaking into the top floor. The red haired girl then offered her hand and gave Nico's a shake. "I'm Rachel, by the way."

"Nico."

She smiled. "I know."

"So, where are we going?"

"Percy wanted to see you about some stuff you need to know."

Nico's face fell. He was in trouble. The elevator finally came to a stop and the two exited. Instead of going right, to Percy's apartment, they went left. They came to a door, which Rachel opened. Nico walked in first and found an office like area. There were two desks on opposite sides of the room, Leo sat at one. He offered Nico a small smile when the boy came in. Nico mouthed an apology to him.

Rachel proceeded into the room and knocked on the back door. He heard Percy's voice from the other side telling them to enter. Rachel held the door open for Nico, and the boy hesitantly walked in, the door closing behind him.

Percy sat behind a large wooden desk, his eyes were busily roaming a computer screen. There were two chairs in front of the desk. There was also a long couch to the right of the room, underneath a window. Percy looked away from his computer and motioned for him to sit down. Nico did slowly, trying not to look at Percy once he was finally seated.

"You aren't in trouble, Nico," Percy said firmly.

Nico glanced up at him. The older boy had no emotion on his face and it was impossible for Nico to read. "Then why did you call for me?"

Percy leaned back in his chair. "I needed to run over a few things with you. I talked to Apollo, he said he had already told you that you would be going back to school." Nico nodded. "You will, starting tomorrow." He slid some paperwork across his desk to Nico. "There is everything you need to know. It's a nice school, I think you'll like it. You are fortunate, unlike many of those here, to not have been out on the streets for too long. A lot of them were out there for years, or some their whole lives."

"So, I go to school during the day and work at night?"

Percy nodded. "I'll see about you getting off a little earlier on school nights, but you'll still be working late. Probably around two in the morning." Percy pulled a phone out of the top drawer on his desk. "Here, I had Rachel pick this up for you."

Nico picked up the new looking smartphone and gaped at Percy. "You got me a phone?" he exclaimed.

Percy let a small smile spread across his lips. "Yeah. I mean, you'll need a way to get in touch with one of us. I already put in everyone's numbers. Enjoy."

Nico gleamed down at his new phone. "T-Thank you!"

Percy just shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Now, I trust you got your new card?" Nico nodded. "That will get you most places like your room, the kitchen, the pool, to the bar, and this floor." His expression grew serious. "As I said earlier, I don't want to find you back on the top floor. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Nico squeaked out. It made Percy smile again.

"Don't call me 'sir'. I'm only four years older than you, Nico."

Nico's eyes widened a bit. "You're only twenty?" Sure he knew Percy was young, but not that young. He was running the North American branch office of an international hotel chain!

Percy cocked his head to the side. "Do I look old?" Nico shook his head furiously. Percy smirked and stood up. He came around his desk and sat on the front of it, leaning down towards Nico. "Here I thought you found me attractive, Nico," he almost purred into Nico's ear. Nico blushed furiously, trying to scramble as far back in his chair as he could. Percy just laughed at him. "You are free to go."

Nico didn't have to be told twice, he gathered up the papers and his phone, and headed out the door. He whisked past Leo and Rachel and out of the office. He slammed into someone as soon as he was out the door. "Watch it!" the other person yelled at him. Nico peered up at the other boy. He was around six foot one with tan skin. He had short-cropped sandy blond hair and sharp blue eyes. They reminded Nico of Octavian's eyes. Even though his face was currently scowling, Nico admitted he was attractive. The only disturbing feature on him was a long scar that ran from his right eye down to his chin.

"S-Sorry," Nico fumbled as he stood up. The blond just grunted and pushed past him, going into the office. Nico gulped and headed for the elevator. That must have been Octavian's brother, Luke. Nico entered the elevator and hit sixty-seven. The door opened a moment later on his floor and the slightly frightened boy headed for his room. He spotted Apollo just as the blond entered his own room. The door to the tall boy's room clicked shut. Nico thought about going down to hang out with him, but decided he should get a shower before work.

* * *

Nico stepped out into the once again loud bar. Chiron greeted him as he came behind the bar to clock in. Zoë came up to the bar and placed her tray down, nodding in Nico's direction, but not saying anything to him. "I hate politicians," she said plainly as Chiron looked over the drink order she gave him.

"Don't let them hear you say that," he mumbled back to her.

"Can I have a shot? That fat drunk over there keeps trying to feel me up," she said, pointing inconspicuously over her shoulder. Chiron slid a shot glass across the bar and poured her a drink of some clear liquid, which she tossed back. She made a face upon setting it back down, gave him her thanks, and took the drinks he had laid on her tray.

"Chiron?" Nico piped up.

"Hmm?" Chiron asked, cleaning a glass.

"How old are most of the kids around here? I saw Percy drinking last night, but he's only twenty."

Chiron smiled softly. "Most of them are between eighteen and twenty. Only a small few are over. Luke is the oldest, at twenty-three. Charles is twenty-two, and Apollo is twenty-one." He set the glass down next to a few others. "I'm sorry to say, lad, but the innocent world that you may have thought existed is a lie. Especially here." He had a sad look on his face as he spoke. "Don't let this paradise fool you. The people who pay to come here may see it as one, but those of us who live here don't see feel the same way."

"Why?"

Chiron didn't answer. He just pursed his lips and gave Nico some drinks and a table number to take them to. Nico huffed as he walked off with the tray of drinks. Everyone was so evasive about stuff. Chiron seemed to feel sorry for the kids here, but all of them seemed happy. He spotted one of the twins in the corner lounge. He seemed to be flirting with some business woman dressed in a suit. He smiled flirtatiously at the woman and winked at her before walking off, a sway in his step. "Hey, Neeks!" Nico could tell it was Connor now that he was closer. "What did the boss man want with you earlier?"

Nico shrugged. "Just giving me my new phone and paperwork for school. I have to start tomorrow."

"Oh yeah? Bummer."

"Do you and Travis not go to college?"

"Nah. We just work around here." The blond from earlier brushed past Nico, bumping his shoulder roughly against Nico's. "I see you met Luke."

"Is he always this cheerful?"

Connor chuckled. "Don't mind Luke. He takes some warming up to. Well, I'm not really sure when he warms up, because, none of us really have gotten there yet."

"I thought you were all a family?"

Connor sat his empty tray down at the bar and handed a new order to Chiron. "Oh we are. He's just the brother that none of us asked for," Connor said with a smile. "You'll get used to him."

"How many people are in this 'family'?" Nico asked, making air quotes.

"Well, Chiron would be like our favorite uncle that everyone goes to for words of wisdom." The man in question chuckled at the brunet's analogy. "This could be Neverland...wait would that make you Captain Hook?" Connor asked looking at Chiron, who rolled his eyes. "Anyways, Percy would be Peter Pan and we can be the Lost Boys."

"Is that why you call each other that?"

Connor nodded. "Yeah, it's a running joke around here. Anyways, to answer your question, there're about twenty of us. That includes Leo and Rachel, who you already met, and Clarisse and Ethan, who work security. All of us pulled off the streets."

"And what is Gaea in this analogy?" Chiron asked, eyes twinkling with amusement.

Connor seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Wendy?"

"I'm not sure Wendy pulled Peter off the streets in the actual story," Chiron stated with a chuckle.

"Wait, Percy lived on the streets too?" Nico asked.

"Hmm. Maybe we should drop this conversation," Connor said hesitantly. "Percy doesn't like to talk about his past." He picked up his tray and walked off.

As the night went on, it remained uneventful. It was almost as miserable for Nico as the previous night. He managed not to drop a tray tonight, though. He did however mix up tables three times, get orders wrong five times, and got a customer annoyed with him. Apparently, Thalia hadn't been kidding when she said to keep his nose out of their business. He had frozen up when he heard the man say something he could have sworn sounded like arms dealing. The man had instantly noticed Nico staring at him and had gotten angry. Unfortunately, Percy wasn't here to save his butt like he had the night before. When he had returned to the bar Luke had been smirking at him for his mistake.

As he came back from a short break, Chiron directed him to a table where a middle-aged man sat by himself. He pulled out his pen and headed over. "Senator." He looked over his shoulder to see Zoë standing behind him. "Good luck," she said with an encouraging smile. Nico tried not to shudder from the way she said it.

"Hi there, my name is Nico and I will be your server today," Nico said with a smile. The man looked up at him, immediately giving Nico a once over. His eyes lit up and came back to rest on Nico's face.

"New here? I don't believe I've seen you before."

"Yes, sir," Nico replied, trying to sound cheerful. He didn't like the way this guy looked at him.

"I may have found a new reason to come back," was the man's reply. Which definitely made Nico feel uncomfortable. "I'll have a vodka martini with an olive." Nico nodded and scribbled down the request. When Nico was about to walk off the man spoke again. "Tell Percy that I will wish to set up an appointment in the future." Nico nodded in confusion and walked off. This place was just weird.

Nico walked over to the bar and slid the order across to Chiron. "I think I just got hit on," Nico said. All of the others looked over at him.

"Really?" Chiron asked, a hint of something in his voice.

"The higher up they are, they more disrespectful of the rules they are," Zoë said dryly.

"He also said something about setting up an appointment with Percy, but I didn't really understand that part."

Connor pursed his lips and Zoë frowned. Chiron glared over at the man's table. "What are you all worried about?" Luke asked, unamused. "It's not like Percy is going to allow it." He glared over at Nico. "Someone seems to be the boss's favorite."

"What?" Nico asked.

"Nothing," Chiron replied, tossing a warning look at Luke, who shrugged and walked off. "Percy will deal with him, don't worry about him." Nico nodded. He picked up the man's drink and walked back towards his table, only to find Percy now sitting with him. While he looked calm, his jaw was clenched as he listened to the man. Percy rubbed his temple. Nico slowly moved towards them so he could hear.

"I told you before, Senator Johnson, that I don't discuss those things here. Now, if you would like to discuss it upstairs, that would be fine. Though, I'm not sure if your request is of a...suitable nature. Now, if that will be all?" Senator Johnson didn't say anything else, so Percy rose from his chair and headed over to the bar. His eyes landed on Nico for a brief second as he passed the younger boy.

Nico sat the drink down in front of the senator and the man thanked him, handing him a five. Nice tip, Nico thought, looking the bill over. When Nico had returned to the bar, Percy was sitting in the same spot he had been last night. He gave Nico a smile as the boy went behind the bar. "You look tired," Nico stated, looking Percy over.

"Rough night," Percy mumbled, taking a sip from his glass. Luke came up and sat down next to Percy, who grunted at the blond. "What do you want, Luke?"

"I just wanted to see if I could come by and discuss my hours a little tonight? I could use a few more, I think."

Percy held up his hand to make sure the boy didn't keep talking. "I'm really not in the mood to talk about it tonight. Besides, last I checked, you get as many hours as Annabeth. I think that's fair."

Luke leaned in closer to Percy. Nico felt a surge of jealousy run through him. "Can't I at least come talk about it?" Luke asked with a wicked smile. He let his hand rest on Percy's thigh.

"Tomorrow. Now get back to your job."

Percy let his head fall on to the wooden surface. He held his glass out and Chiron refilled it. Nico fidgeted with his shirt. "A-Am I supposed to be negotiating hours with you?" Nico asked quietly.

Percy looked up at him with wide eyes. "No!" Percy practically yelled. Chiron raised an eyebrow at him and Percy sat up straight. "I mean, no. Don't worry about it. I have you taken care of." Things were just so confusing around here. Everyone else seemed to want to talk to Percy about their hours, but Nico wasn't expected to? Maybe it was because he was new. Nico nodded and walked off with another order of drinks. He barely managed to catch the next thing Percy said to Chiron. "He is going to be the death of me." He heard Chiron let out a chuckle.

* * *

Not much else happened the rest of the night. Everything went on as normal. Percy had left after about thirty minutes without saying anything else to anyone. Chiron finally dismissed Nico at two and Nico unfastened his apron and headed for the elevator. He was about to hit the button to his floor when he saw a man in his thirties heading for the elevator. Nico held the door open for him, but when the man saw Nico he stopped. "That's ok, you go ahead. I, uh, need to wait on a friend of mine," the man said. Nico arched an eyebrow and hit the button. He yawned and stretched as he waited for the elevator to come to a halt. He exited on to his floor, which was dead silent. Everybody must be working. He couldn't see any lights on under doors.

He slid his card in and went into his place. He found a note on the counter of the kitchen.

_ Hey, Nico, _

_ Percy told me to go grocery shopping for you. I didn't really know what you liked so I just picked up a few things. So, if you get hungry, and don't want to order from the kitchen, you have food stocked here._

_ -Leo_

_ P.S. Sorry about giving you that card. I guess I wasn't thinking._

Nico sighed as he wadded up the note and tossed it in the trash. He looked in his fridge, and sure enough, there was an assortment of things inside it. He reached in and grabbed a bottle of water before retreating to his bedroom. He plopped down on his bed and flipped the TV on. He smiled to himself as he flipped through the guide and found one of his favorite shows, The Walking Dead. He opened his water and took a swig. He figured it wouldn't hurt to watch a little TV before bed.

* * *

Nico shot up at the sound of an alarm. Apparently, Leo also took the liberty of setting his alarm clock. He scowled at the contraption, contemplating tossing it against the wall. He hit the button to turn it off and dragged himself out of bed. He supposed it was a good thing, since he had forgotten to set one, and he didn't want to be late on his first day at his new school.

When he stepped out of the shower, he heard his phone going off. He reached over and looked at the caller ID. It read Apollo's name. He slid his finger across the screen to unlock it, and brought it to his ear. "Hello?" he asked, wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Hey, buddy. Do you want a ride to school? I was going to leave soon, and figured you might like a ride."

"Um. Sure."

"Great. Now, open your door so I don't have to stand around in the hall." Nico rolled his eyes as he hung up. He made his way to the front door and opened it for the blond. Today he was dressed in a red polo and a pair of dark jeans. "Well, I think I can get used to our morning encounters, Nico," Apollo said, looking at Nico's wet form.

"Do you flirt with everyone?" Nico asked, walking towards his bathroom.

Apollo chuckled. "Need to make those big bucks somehow. I only mean it for the cuties." Nico could practically see Apollo's grin as he stood in the bathroom. "Don't take too long. I need to have you to school by eight."

"Ok," Nico called back to him, pulling his pants on.

He emerged a few minutes later with a dark blue t-shirt with a drawing of an owl printed on it. "Ready?" Apollo asked, gesturing to the door. Nico nodded, grabbing the new backpack that Leo had left him. He made sure to get his schedule from the folder Percy had given him yesterday and made his way out the door with Apollo.

Apollo hit the basement button and they made their long descent down to the parking garage. "You work last night?" Nico asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," Apollo replied with a yawn. He did look tired. He probably hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Nico wondered how they all managed to work so late and get up to go to classes. They probably went for later classes.

Nico figured he might as well ask. "So, do all of you get up this early for college? I mean, you guys work really late. I figure it would be brutal to do this every weekday."

"I only get up this early on Mondays and Wednesdays. So, I'll give you rides on those days. I think Charles has an early class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So, maybe you can get a ride with him tomorrow."

"What has you up so early? What do you study?"

"Well, I am at a school of the arts. I study dance and music."

"What kind?"

Apollo smiled at Nico. "I study ballet and hip-hop for dancing. Then I have piano and singing for music."

"That sounds cool."

"Yeah, I love it. My-My dad didn't really approve of a lot of it. When I sat down and talked to him about it after I graduated high school he kicked me out. Well, it might have also had to do with me telling him I was gay," Apollo said with a dry chuckle. This made Nico frown. "Don't worry about me, dude. Everything turned out fine." The elevator came to a stop and they made their way through the parking garage. Apollo came to a stop in front of a red Maserati Spyder. Apollo smiled over at Nico's shocked expression. "What did you think we all drove junkers?"

"I-I just didn't think the job would pay this well," Nico said, getting into the car.

"Well, the rest of us make more, but don't sweat it. You'll still make a good bit." Apollo cranked the car and backed out. He didn't even bother to obey the speed limit as they zoomed down the streets. It made Nico a little nervous. He only stopped clenching his seat when the found too much traffic and had to slow down.

"So, do you miss anything about your old life?" Nico asked as they went under a green light.

"My sister. She meant a lot to me. We picked on each other a lot, but now that I don't get to see her, I really miss her. We were twins and really close," Apollo said with a sad smile.

"What was her name?"

Apollo popped a piece of gum in his mouth. "Artemis. She was beautiful, just like her name. I had to play the jealous brother many times over the years." The smile drifted off his face as he finished.

"Can't you find her?"

Apollo looked over at him. "Well, I kind of grew up in Florida. So, no, I haven't really been able to. I mean, I really don't know where to start. I guess I could ask Percy to track her down for me. I-I just don't know if I would want her to see me now."

"Why not?" Nico asked, cocking his head to the side. Apollo made a point not to look at him.

"Oh, look, we're at your new school." Nico looked out his window and sure enough they were pulling up to a large high school. Apollo pulled up to a curb and stopped the car. "Well, good luck with your first day." Apollo gave him a smile. Nico picked up his backpack and got out of the car. He waved at Apollo as the blond drove off. He let out a long sigh as he turned to look at his new school. It was probably twice the size of his old one, and much nicer. This one had to get a lot of funding. He slowly made his way up the sidewalk into the main building. He was already ready to get this day over with.

* * *

_Luke finally back in the story. For any new readers, he has become one of my favorite characters to write. He just holds this special place in my heart and I kind of want him. Another odd thing for me, looking back on all of this and already knowing the ending. I mean, I'm not close to ending the story at chapter 30, that's only close to the halfway point. I say around halfway because I really don't know how long it'll be. But I do know how the story is going to end. I have the most perfect ending planned for the story. I'm not going to say anything other than that, though. I don't want to give anything away, but I do know you'll all love it. I think there'll be tears shed with how powerful I'm going to make it. Anyways, I'm going to go back to writing my first Halloween fic for the year, and try and finish it up over the next day or two. Don't forget to follow/favorite if you haven't done so already, and don't be shy about leaving a review if you're enjoying it. _


	4. Chapter 4

_So, you'll never guess who's sitting beside me right now? You win if you guessed Bragi. Yep, he's on a road trip and he loved me enough to come see me. I can now be actually beaten into getting my work done. In other news, I'll probably only have one Halloween fic this year. One of them was just giving me so many problems, and I just don't have the time to get it where I need to be. But never fear, the one I really was excited about is still on. That will also mean I'll be getting back to work on my other stories quicker._

_Also, I'm realizing that I haven't really replied to any reviews from last chapter. I'm working to amend that. I'm recovering from food poisoning or something, and haven't been really able to do much of anything except keep myself near a toilet to taste what I ate twice. Anyways, I'm going to get back to writing. I just wanted to give you guys another chapter._

Chapter 4

Nico slid into the passenger seat when Apollo pulled up to the curb. The blond had changed clothes, and he now wore a sleeveless white shirt and some green track shorts that showed off his long smooth legs. "Have a good day?" Apollo asked as they pulled back on to the street. Nico just shrugged, looking out the window. His day had been rough, to say the least. He was the new kid. He hadn't made any friends. In fact he had done the opposite. Apparently, one of the kids had deemed him bullyable material. He had gotten shoved into the lockers twice. He also didn't like having to come in and have to catch up on so much work. Why couldn't Percy just let him stay out of school?

Apollo seemed to notice his sour mood and patted his leg. "How do we find out who we're on shift with?" Nico mumbled, still looking out the window.

Apollo frowned at him. "Leo should have set you up with a hotel email. You should have gotten an email letting you know. Check your phone." Nico slipped his phone out of his pocket and went through his phone until he found his email.

"Travis, Charles, and two others that I don't know."

"What are their names?"

"Calypso and Annabeth."

"Ah," was all that Apollo said. Nico gave him a look. "What? There's not much to say about them. They're cool. Calypso is kind of quiet. She's a real sweet girl. Annabeth is...well, Annabeth is just Annabeth. She's smart girl," he said as he turned a corner, "and she is one of the few people Luke will get along with. She was also one of Percy's first adoptees. When he got put in charge he didn't really have any of us. Myself, Annabeth, Luke, and Thalia were the first ones he found. Took us all off the streets and put us to work."

"When are you going to be at the bar again?" Nico asked, finally looking at the blond.

Apollo shrugged. "Don't know. I'm sure I'll be back soon. Possibly tomorrow or the next day."

"You work tonight?"

"Yeah," Apollo said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Where at?"

"The hotel, duh." Apollo grinned over at Nico.

"Ha ha, very funny. Seriously, where at?"

Apollo reached over and picked up some sunglasses, slipping them over his eyes. "So, what happened at school today?" Nico pouted at Apollo's obvious topic change.

"Horrible. Why do I have to go?"

"You can elect not to go to college after you graduate high school, but you do need to graduate. So, what happened?"

Nico sank back into his seat, crossing his arms. "I don't want to talk about it." Apollo chuckled at him.

They pulled into the hotel's garage and Nico hopped out when Apollo parked. He grabbed his backpack and followed after the tall blond as he headed to the elevator. They boarded the elevator and Apollo slipped in his card before hitting the button to their floor. "So, I don't think I've asked, but how do you like it here so far?"

Nico looked up at him. Apollo slipped off his shades and clipped them to the top of his shirt. His deep blue eyes peered down at Nico as he waited for the dark haired boy's answer. "I love it. I like it better than my old life actually. Percy is really awesome to take people in like that."

Apollo grinned down at him. "Yeah, you could say that."

"So, what does he do all day? Just sit in his office?"

Apollo mumbled something under his breath, but Nico failed to make it out. Seeing Nico's confused look, Apollo cleared his throat. "For the most part. He'll roam the hotel on occasion. He likes going to the pool if he has free time. And, as you've seen, he'll go to the bar at night."

"So, I don't really understand this hours discussion thing. I heard you and Luke ask to talk to Percy about your hours, but Percy said I shouldn't worry about it."

Apollo started choking and then burst out laughing. Nico frowned at the boy's amusement. "He said that? Well then, that is interesting. I don't think you'll ever have to worry about your time slots, Nico," Apollo said with a wink. Nico was about to question him, but the door opened and the blond stepped out onto their floor. Apollo passed Nico's door. He turned and walked backwards to his own room. "Don't hurt your pretty little head over it, Nico. It isn't a bad thing. If anything, you should be thankful." Nico opened his mouth to question him once again, but the boy slipped his card in the door and closed it behind him.

Nico frowned at the spot where the boy had stood a second ago. He slid his card in his own door and stepped inside. He headed over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. He had slowly begun to regain his normal appetite, but he had still been eating small, soft things. He would give it a few more days before returning to his normal eating habits.

He plopped down on the couch to watch some TV. He had a few hours before work. He would need to find something to eat before then. Maybe he would call the kitchen and have something delivered, which was what he had done for the past few meals. Like everything else in this hotel, the food was like a slice of paradise.

There was a knock at the door and Nico groaned as he stood back up. He walked over to the door and opened it. He looked up to find Percy's warm eyes staring down at him. He stepped aside to allow the tall boy entrance. Percy walked into the kitchen and sat down on one of the stools, facing Nico. "I just wanted to come by real quick to see how your first day at school went."

Nico sighed and sat back down on the couch, his head hitting the seat cushion. "Can't I just work around here all day?" He heard Percy laugh. It had become a sweet music to his ears. He wasn't sure if it was appropriate for him to crush on his boss, but he couldn't help it. He felt the couch shift and saw that Percy had moved from the stool. He sat back up, but regretted it instantly. He found his face extremely close to Percy's. He had to shift away from Percy slightly.

"It couldn't be that bad, could it? What was the problem? I can call and see if I can fix it."

Nico looked down at his feet. "No, that's alright. You've already done so much for me. I feel bad asking for anything else." He looked back over at Percy again, who had seemed to have shifted closer to him.

"You can ask me for anything you like," Percy whispered to him. Nico flushed bright red at the sound of his voice. Percy's eyes sparkled. Nico felt himself unconsciously leaning closer to him. Suddenly, Percy cleared his throat and stood up. Nico let out a silent groan of frustration. "What was the problem, anyway?" Well there certainly was a new problem, Nico thought.

"It's nothing. I promise. Just being the new kid." Percy nodded in understanding. "You going to be at the bar tonight?"

Percy looked away. "Uh, No, I've got a lot of work to do tonight." Nico's face dropped at that. "So, you'll get your first paycheck this week. You should ask one of the boys or girls to take you to get some clothes, or something. I gave you a bit of a bonus to help you out in getting started."

"Thanks," Nico said, a smile returning to his face. Percy was being too nice. It wasn't helping Nico's crush, though. Percy nodded and headed back towards the door.

"Well, like I said, I just wanted to come and check on you. If you are having an issue at school, don't hesitate to tell me. I'll take care of it for you." Nico nodded, standing back up. He walked over to the door where Percy was now standing.

Percy opened the door and looked back at Nico. "Percy?" Percy stopped closing the door. Nico moved closer to him. "Thank you again," Nico said, wrapping his arms around Percy's neck in a hug. Percy stiffened initially, but slowly wrapped his arms around the small boy's waist.

"Don't mention it, Nico," Percy whispered back. He took a step back, tossed Nico a final smile, and closed the door. Nico sighed and walked back over to the couch, which he fell face first onto. There was a downside to this paradise, and its name was Percy. He was the one thing that Nico could probably never have.

* * *

Nico walked hurriedly into the bar and over to the counter. He had passed out on the couch and had almost had been late for work. Chiron tossed him a knowing look as the boy hurried behind the bar and tied his apron around his waist. Travis was sat at the bar with a girl beside him. The girl was very beautiful, and naturally so. Nico could tell she had little to no makeup on. She had long caramel colored hair with two fairytale like curls hanging on either side of her face. Even over the smell of food and alcohol, Nico could detect her cinnamon shampoo. Her green eyes shined like two emeralds in the low lighting. In her hair was a silver flower, Nico assumed it was fake.

Travis saw Nico staring at the girl. "Hey, Neeks. This is Calypso. Calypso, this is our newest member." Calypso gave him a warm smile, she held her hand out and Nico shook her hand. The two of them were currently eating, and Nico assumed they hadn't had time to eat either. "You want half?" Nico blinked and looked back at Travis. He must have noticed the longing look Nico was giving his food. He had a piece of his sandwich held out for Nico to take.

"I-uh-I don't know. Don't you want it?"

"Nah, that's alright. You look hungry, and I need to get started on my shift."

Nico nodded and took Travis's spot after the boy stood up. He chewed off a bite of the sandwich, letting it fall into his empty stomach. "So, you're new here?" Calypso asked. Her voice was rich like chocolate. Nico nodded, not wanting to talk with his mouth full. "The others have been talking about you the past few days. I think we all know of your presence. Though, I'm betting you still haven't met all of us."

Nico swallowed his food. "I think I've met most of you. Some I didn't get introduced to."

Calypso chuckled. "Yes, we heard about your little run in on the top floor. That was Clarisse and Ethan. They work security around here."

Nico felt his face heat up. "So, word definitely gets around in this place." Calypso nodded, a warm smile still in place. Calypso finished eating her food and went to pick up her plate. Nico's eyes flickered down to her arm. She was wearing a long sleeve shirt, but the sleeve had slipped up higher, revealing the skin on her upper arm. A bruise had formed on the girl's arm. She noticed him staring and slid the fabric down. "What happened?"

"N-Nothing. It was nothing. Just some stupid drunk guy. It was taken care of, so don't worry about it." She gave him another smile before walking off.

He felt someone pat him on the back. He looked up to see Charles smiling down at him. "Hey there, Nico. How you doing tonight?" the muscular man asked.

"Better now. I actually enjoy this more than school." Charles tossed him a smile, walked behind the counter, and grabbed an apron. "So, do you go to school, Charles?"

"Beckendorf."

Nico cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"That's my last name. Everyone calls me Beckendorf," Beckendorf said with a grin. "Yeah, I'm going to college. I'm studying mechanics."

Nico stood up and was about to take his plate to where Calypso had dropped hers, but almost bumped into someone. The first things he noticed were her stormy grey eyes. He felt like she was studying him. She had long, curly blonde hair. She was an inch or two taller than Nico. She had perfectly tanned skin, and Nico decided she was very pretty. "New kid," was the girl's only statement. She looked him up and down, taking him in fully. Her eyes snapped back up to meet Nico's. "Annabeth."

"Nico," was Nico's response.

She gave him a knowing smile. "I know. I've heard about you."

"Yeah, Calypso said that the others have been talking about me."

"Yes, but that's not who told me about you."

Nico watched her walk behind the bar. "Who told you about me then?" She just smiled at him again and walked off into the mass of tables. Nico huffed and took out his pad. He walked over to a nearby table, getting drinks for a woman who looked like a librarian and her overweight husband.

True to his word, Percy hadn't shown up yet. It made Nico frown a little. He kept glancing over to the elevator anytime it opened. Nico was getting better about things, though. His mistakes were kept to a minimal tonight. Maybe he was getting the hang of it.

Around ten, Nico got to go on break. He pushed past a set of doors and entered their small break room. He plopped down onto a chair. Travis looked at him upside down on the couch. The twins' Cheshire cat grin seemed to be their normal face setting. Travis's leg even swung in the air like a cat's tail. "Getting the hang of things?" Travis asked.

"Yeah. It just took me a few days of making a fool of myself."

Travis grinned wider at him. "That's alright. We all messed up when we first got here."

"Tell me about you and Connor."

Travis's smile turned into a small frown. "What do you want to know?"

"Well, what was it like for you two before Percy found you?"

"Well, we were orphans growing up. We got moved from home to home a lot. Families didn't keep us too long. I'm not sure if it was our mischievous attitudes or if it was just hard to support two kids. We got put in some bad places sometimes. There was a druggie, an abusive mother, a couple that probably only took us for the tax benefits, and finally there was the single dad that tried selling us for money."

"Wh-Why would someone do that?" Nico gasped.

Travis raised his eyebrow at him. "Are you really surprised at what people would do? What did you get kicked out for?"

"Being gay," Nico whispered.

Travis nodded. "Like I said, are you really surprised? The world sucks. Now things aren't so bad. We make tons of money and are well taken care of. We probably make more money than some of those families will ever see in their lifetime. Don't feel bad for myself or Connor."

Nico nodded slowly. "How did Percy find you?"

Travis chuckled. "Funny story, that. Well, we made the mistake of trying to pick his pocket. We had no idea the guy had lived on the streets when he was younger. It was like he knew all the tricks in the book. My brother and I were really good little thieves, but he caught us. Didn't try to take his wallet back. Even offered for us to keep the money he had in it. However, he offered us a job that could ensure that we stayed off the street and wouldn't have to go hungry again. The wallet or a job? That was our choice. We didn't even have to think twice about it. It didn't matter what the job was, we just wanted off of that street."

Annabeth came through the doors and hit Travis's shoe. He looked up at her as she sat next to him on the couch. "Break time is over for you," she said looking at Travis. Travis sighed and flipped his legs over the top of the couch. He flipped himself into a standing position, gave Nico a final grin, and walked out the door. Annabeth's eyes immediately darted to Nico. "So, how come Percy only has you working the bar? I think you would pull in some big bucks upstairs."

Nico tilted his head to the side. He didn't understand some of the things they said sometimes. It was like they spoke a language all their own, or maybe it was a code. "Well, anytime any of the others bring it up, I get the feeling that it is because I'm sixteen. Though, I'm not sure what that has to do with anything. I mean I'm working in a bar. I thought you had to be eighteen to even do that."

"You do look rather young." Annabeth shrugged. "A lot of us drink and most of us are underage. You'll find that the rules from the outside world don't apply in here. Actually, let me rephrase that, the world that you thought existed doesn't apply here. I'm sure some of the others said it, but life isn't all sugar and rainbows, Nico. As you learned in your time on the streets, people suck. The world is a broken place where illegal things happen and nothing is done about it."

"How come the police don't come here and shut things down? I mean, like, the underage drinking, and stuff. I'm pretty sure I heard something about arms dealing from a customer."

Annabeth gave him another smile. "Didn't anyone tell you to keep your nose out of the customers' business?"

Nico sighed. "Yeah, Thalia did."

"Yes, the customers are used to being able to talk about whatever they want. They don't like us sticking our noses into their business. We are there to look pretty and make them happy. The reason the police don't get involved is simple. One that may shock you, but simple. It's mainly because they get paid. Our owner, Gaea, isn't someone most people want to get in the way of. The police chief gets a nice fat check, and they stay away, unless Percy wants them here. The other reason is because nobody talks about what goes on here. What happens here and what goes on around here never leave this building. If someone talks, Percy finds out, and Percy will make sure that person doesn't come back."

Nico was shocked. These people got away with who knows what here. Yet, it was just normal? "Ho-Wh-I-." Nico didn't know what to say.

"Most of us are surprised by the nature of things when we arrive. You'll get used to it. Remember what I said, though, and don't talk about it to anyone. Don't even talk about it with the other employees. Only the Lost Kids talk about it. You are an adoptee, but Percy hasn't thrown you in as a Lost Boy. I know that sounds rough, but you aren't a member of the 'secret society'." She let a soft smile play on her face. "I don't mean to sound cruel, or anything. I'm just being realistic. It would be best if you didn't even let on that you knew what was going on here."

"I don't know what's going on here. It seems like a meeting place for crime lords. There's an entire floor that I'm forbidden to set foot on. This place is just so confusing. Yet, I'm happy to be here. I'd rather be here then back on the streets."

Annabeth's lips thinned. "Just be thankful that you are only working the bar, then."

Nico looked up at her. "Apollo said you were one of the first ones here."

Annabeth nodded. "Yes, I was the first. Actually, what most people don't know is that I was here before Percy took over. He was working just like the rest of us when I arrived." Her gaze seemed to become distant. "He wasn't...as nice as he is now. He lived on the streets for a long time before Gaea found him. I think it took a lot of work from Gaea to turn him into the charmer that he is today. I've never told anyone else that, and I would appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

"I promise that I won't," Nico assured her. She nodded her head, seemingly lost in thought.

"Well, I think we need to get back to work." She stood up and extended her hand to help Nico stand up. "I think you'll do fine around here."

* * *

Nico was let off at one, which he was most thankful for. He had almost fallen asleep twice at school earlier. He didn't want to have a repeat of that. He wasted no time in shedding his apron and heading for the elevator.

He smiled at Thalia as he saw the girl on the elevator. She, however, seemed nervous about having the boy on board. She was standing next to a man that looked to be in his thirties. He had on a pair of glasses and his hair was gelled back. She gave Nico a nervous smile as he boarded. He hit the button to his floor and the elevator started to descend.

Nico looked over at Thalia. She was wearing a camo jacket and a pair of loose black pants. As she felt Nico's gaze on her, she tightened her grip on the front of the jacket. Nico frowned at her. He didn't think about it too much, though. He was starting to get used to the oddness around here.

The elevator came to a stop and he stepped out, but Thalia didn't. He looked back at her as the door began to shut again. She just gave him a small wave. He stared at the elevator a moment, not understanding what had just happened. He shrugged and headed down his hallway.

A door at the end of the hall opened and Percy stepped out. He ran a hand through his hair as the door swung shut. He opened his eyes and noticed Nico staring at him. He threw on one of his famous smiles and headed over towards Nico. Nico smiled at him as he opened his door. "Are you about to go to bed?" Percy asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"I think I can stay up for a while, if you wanted to hang out," Nico replied with a grin. Percy nodded and the two walked into Nico's suite. Percy sat down on Nico's couch and motioned for Nico to join him. Nico scooped up the remote and flipped the TV on. Nico turned around to face Percy, whose eyes shot up to his face. Was Percy checking out his ass? "What would you like to watch?"

Percy shrugged. "I'm fine with anything. Just enjoying some down time before I had to get to bed." Nico flipped through the channels until he found something suitable. He decided to turn the volume down so they could talk.

"So, why were you in that room? I thought you said you had to work late?" Nico asked, looking curious.

Percy cleared his throat. "Oh, that was business. Just discussing business with one of the boys."

"You do some late night business discussions then. It's one in the morning."

Percy chuckled nervously. "Yeah, well I have to make time for everything. So, Nico, tell me about yourself. What got you on the street anyways?"

Nico started fidgeting with his hands. "W-Well I told my dad that I was gay. It didn't go over very well and he told me to get out. I just didn't understand how he could do that over something so small," Nico whispered, pulling his legs up to his chest.

Percy was frowning at him. Did Percy not like gay guys either? He didn't seem like the homophobic type. His face seemed to soften when he saw Nico's anxious expression. "I'm sorry, Nico. You didn't deserve that." He patted Nico's leg. "So, what was life like before you got kicked out?"

"Well, I didn't get along very well with my dad. My mom is a nice woman, but she didn't stand up for us when dad was angry with us. She was just too quiet natured. Bianca was the only one that really took care of me. She tried to shield me from everything she could. The night I left, I heard her yelling at dad for what he was doing. I just hope she didn't get hit for it."

"Did he ever hit you?" Percy asked, clenching his jaw.

Nico nodded. "A few times. The night it all happened he left a few bruises on my arm and my cheek." Nico looked over at Percy. The boy had a dark expression on his face, and Nico thought it almost looked murderous. "I guess I'm glad to be here, because, it's also an improvement over my old life as well."

Percy seemed to snap out of his anger and looked down. "Don't say that, Nico."

"Why not? Everything seems so great around here. Why does everyone keep saying things like that?"

"You-" Percy sighed. "Never mind. It's not that important. I'll make sure you don't have it hard like that again." Percy leaned back against the couch. "Now, let's watch this movie." Nico leaned back into the couch and the two of them settled in to watch the movie Nico had chosen. Nico did take notice of Percy's arm falling over the couch behind his back. He tried to hide the smile that formed on his lips.


	5. Chapter 5

_Yeah, so I'm a little behind, and I guess we'll start with all of that. So, I did say I was going to do a Halloween fic, and it will still be published, but I just ran into some problems. First, this time of year, September through November, is typically a very depressing time for my family. There's a lot of death centered around the fall for me, so I typically disappear for a few weeks, even from my friends. The other part is that I've been feeling strained over writing. It's why I put a halt to the Halloween fic. When something like this happens, the quality is expected to drop. I'm not motivated anymore. Quitting has crossed my mind, but I don't think that's what should happen. However, I will be changing some things. Don't expect much from Genesis or Shadows a lot right now._

_I'm just not motivated to write either of them right now. Maybe that'll change for Shadows soon, but we'll see. Don't worry, I still love Children. And if anything, I'd keep writing it, even if I gave up on everything else. I've become too invested in it, and I do enjoy writing it. And I think this is my problem: most of my concentration has been put on stories I'm not wanting to write. And I spent most of October worrying about one fic that I didn't even want to do, which ended up getting tossed out. And then I was left with little time to get the other one done. So, I'm going to try focusing on what I want to write, and there will be more on that at the bottom. But, for now, I'll get on with the chapter._

_Warning: Language. Nudity, I guess. Not much this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I also don't own Adele's song "Someone Like You"._

Chapter 5

Nico woke up to the sound of his alarm clock. He groaned and silenced it. He sat up in bed and stretched. The rest of the week had flown by rather quickly for Nico and, thankfully, it was Friday. Nico dragged himself out of bed and made his way into the bathroom. He looked at his chest in the mirror. His appetite was almost back to normal now, but it would be a few more weeks before he probably noticed a change in his physical appearance. He wiped at his face as a tear fell down his cheek.

He got out of the shower and started to dry off. He cocked his head at the sound of knocking. He hadn't made plans for anyone to take him to school today, which may have been a mistake. He didn't know how he was going to get there. He slipped his pants on and grabbed his shirt as he made his way to the door. He cracked it open to find Percy on the other side. "Good morning, Nico," Percy said cheerfully.

Nico smiled at him, slipping his shirt over his head. He caught Percy's eyes flickering up to his face as the material fell over his head. Had he been looking at his torso? He was probably just checking if his condition had improved. "Morning," Nico replied, heading back to the bathroom. Percy followed after him.

"I thought I'd give you a lift to school." Nico smiled at him in the mirror. "I have some business I have to take care of around town, so I figured I could give you a ride." Nico nodded while brushing his teeth. "Oh, a few of the others are probably going to go do something tomorrow, if you want to join them I'll give you the day off."

Nico spun around to look at Percy. "Wha-But I am supposed to work."

Percy shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll get you covered. Go enjoy yourself. Talk to Thalia or Apollo, they are usually the ones who organize the plans." Percy reached into his back pocket and pulled out a check and a debit card. "I almost forgot. You can cash this and go shopping today if you want. I wanted to give you your first paycheck personally." Percy beamed at Nico as the boy took it.

Nico's eyes widened at the numbers on the check. "Holy shit, Percy!"

"Like I said, I gave you a little extra to help you get started. I had Leo set you up a standard account at a bank that's closely connected to Gaea. You can go deposit that there. I'll have whoever picks you up after school take you by the place. Then you can just use the card to buy whatever it is you want to buy." Nico flung his arms around Percy's neck. The taller boy blinked down at Nico, slowly wrapping his arms around the smaller one.

"Thank you so much, Percy. This really means a lot. You've done a lot for me."

"Really, don't worry about it. Now, hurry up. We need to get on the road." Nico followed Percy out of his suite and down the hall to the elevator. It was a rather quiet trip down, but it didn't bother Nico. He had enjoyed Percy's company over the past week, though he hadn't gotten to see the green-eyed boy very much, and yet Percy seemed to make time to visit with him.

They exited into the garage, and Percy pulled a set of keys out of his pocket. "Wow," Nico said when they arrived at a shiny blue car. "I don't think I've seen one like this before, I mean I don't know much about cars, but I don't think I've even seen a commercial for this."

Percy chuckled as the two got into the car. "That's because it's not on the market yet. I know a guy, and he gave me this baby early. Pretty cool, right?" Nico nodded, rubbing his hand on the dashboard. Percy grabbed some papers and opened the glove compartment, sliding the documents inside. Something briefly caught Nico's eyes as Percy had the compartment open. Something metallic shone inside. Percy noticed Nico trying to get a better look inside and shut the compartment. He cranked the car without a word and the two set off out of the garage.

* * *

"Good afternoon, Nico," Thalia greeted him as Nico slid into the passenger seat. "Ready to go cash your first paycheck?" Nico nodded. "I wanted to do some shopping, if you don't mind tagging along. Percy said you might want to get some new clothes."

"Yeah, that would be great." Nico tossed his backpack in the backseat. "Percy said you guys might be going out tomorrow?"

Thalia fooled around with the stereo, trying to find some good music. "Yeah, we try to take some time to do something fun on days we get off. I think Apollo wanted to go to the beach. You want to tag along?"

"Sure. It sounds like fun. Is the whole group going?" There were still a few Lost Kids that Nico hadn't met yet, and he was getting curious about them.

"No, some of us have to stay back and work. I think Will is going to be going. You haven't met him yet have you?" Nico shook his head. "He's kind of like Apollo. They even kind of look alike." The car came to a stop. Nico opened the door and looked up at the bank in front of them. It was several stories tall, more than likely a bank that catered to special clients. Nico held the door open for Thalia as they went in, earning a smile from the girl.

Thalia led them into the building's lobby. Nico let his gaze rise up to look at the chandeliers that hung above them. He could see several floors above them. A few people stood around the edges, apparently carrying on conversations. Thalia tugged on his arm, drawing Nico's attention back to the ground floor. There was a short line of people in front of the teller windows. However, Thalia didn't wait, passing the people in line and going up to the first window that had just opened. Nico apologized as he followed after her, trying not to stare up at the glares he got. Thalia put an arm around his shoulders as he came up to her.

"Hey there, Lacy. I need to make a deposit and Nico here needs to make his first deposit," Thalia said. She slid her paycheck under the window to the blonde girl behind the counter. Lacy typed in some numbers into her computer and pulled out a slip of paper. She filled it out and slid it back to Thalia.

"There you go, Thals. Now, let's get your friend all set up." Thalia pushed Nico up to the window. "Leo called earlier and had your account set up, Nico. If you'll just hand me your paycheck, I can finish the process for you." Nico pulled out the piece of paper and slid it to her. She repeated the same process she had with Thalia. She pulled out a card after she was done and wrote down some numbers on it. She slid the deposit slip and the card back across to Nico. "Alright, you're all finished. I wrote your account number on the card, so be sure you keep up with it, so you don't forget your account number. You can check your account balance online using your account information to log in on our website." She gave them both a smile. "Alright. You are both ready to go. Have a nice day." Thalia gave the girl a wave and dragged Nico out of the building.

"Alright, let's go shopping!" Thalia announced, jumping back into the car.

"We don't have to wait a while for it to deposit?" Nico asked.

"Nope. They clear our checks as soon as they get deposited. We don't have to worry about it."

The two of them rode to the mall, where they spent some time looking around stores. Thalia had Nico pick out anything that caught his eye, and made him try all of it on. While Nico was in the middle of changing when Thalia stuck her head into Nico's dressing room. He yelped and covered his bare torso. Thalia laughed at him. "What's the matter, Nico?"

"I'm not really used to people seeing me undressed." Thalia arched her eyebrow.

"Don't worry about it. All of the Lost Kids have seen each other naked. It's nothing I haven't seen before. It's not like you have anything to worry about, Nico. You are pretty attractive."

Nico lowered his shirt, exposing his chest. "Yeah, but I lost a lot of weight while on the streets. It's really depressing to see myself like this."

"It wasn't your fault, Nico. The rest of us looked similar to you when we were on the streets." Thalia's eyes looked Nico's torso over. She exhaled after she was done. "I've seen worse. You'll have your old figure back within a few weeks' time. Talk to one of the guys. They can take you to the gym with them, if you want." Nico nodded and Thalia exited the dressing room.

Nico emerged a few moments later, dressed in one of the outfits that she had picked out for him. "Well?"

Thalia's eyes brightened. "You look hot, Nico!" She fiddled with his black hair. "Remind me to take you down to get some better shampoo. We need to get your hair back to life. We'll make you sexy."

"Why do my looks matter?"

"Better tips? You'll find you'll get more attention from the customers if you look good. Besides, it might help you get the attention of...a certain green-eyed guy." Nico's cheeks darkened. "You might want to hide it a little more if you are going to act all embarrassed. Just be careful," she said, stepping back from Nico. He gave her an odd look. "Percy doesn't usually take an interest with any of his employees, or anyone, for that matter." Nico bit his lip to keep from frowning. Thalia gave him a sympathetic smile. "Let's get you this and anything else you want to buy." Nico nodded and went back into the dressing room.

After they were done with clothes, they went down to the other end of the mall to find Nico some shampoo. Thalia shoved a few bottles at him. Nico looked each of them over, trying to decide which he liked best. He decided on one and he purchased it.

* * *

Thalia pulled into a parking space and the two emerged from her car. They pulled their bags from the backseat and headed to the elevator. Nico raised an eyebrow when Thalia hit the lobby button. "Apollo is going to be off work soon. I wanna catch him before he gets off," Thalia said, noticing Nico's questioning look.

"What's he doing?" Nico asked as the elevator came to a stop. Nico followed Thalia out of the elevator and over to the hotel restaurant.

"Entertaining people." Thalia gave a wave to a plump brown headed woman behind the podium. Nico's ears picked up on the piano playing. They turned a small corner and Nico spotted Apollo sitting behind a grand piano. He had his eyes on the keys as his fingers ran across them. Thalia pulled out a chair and sat at a table up close. Nico followed her lead and sat down with her. The two of them put their bags on the floor. Nico recognized the melody instantly. He listened to the intro play so beautifully.

Finally Apollo started to singing. His voice was beautiful as he sang the soulful song that Nico loved so much.

"_I heard that you're settled down__  
__That you found a girl and you're married now.__  
__I heard that your dreams came true.__  
__Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you."_

The room was quiet as Apollo played, everyone captivated by his voice, which was full of emotion.

"_Old friend, why are you so shy?_

_Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light.__I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited__  
__But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.__  
__I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded__  
__That for me it isn't over.__Never mind, I'll find someone like you__  
__I wish nothing but the best for you too__  
__Don't forget me, I beg__  
__I remember you said,__  
__Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,__  
__Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."_

Apollo had closed his eyes as he let his fingers play from memory. Nico felt so drawn in by the hypnotic sound of Apollo's voice. It was like he was driving his emotions into the song and everyone around him felt the boy's pain. Nico glanced away and saw a few women wiping their eyes.

"_You know how the time flies_

_Only yesterday was the time of our lives__  
__We were born and raised__  
__In a summer haze__  
__Bound by the surprise of our glory days__I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited__  
__But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.__  
__I'd hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded__  
__That for me it isn't over.__Never mind, I'll find someone like you__  
__I wish nothing but the best for you too__  
__Don't forget me, I beg__  
__I remember you said,__  
__Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.__Nothing compares__  
__No worries or cares__  
__Regrets and mistakes__  
__They are memories made.__  
__Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?__Never mind, I'll find someone like you__  
__I wish nothing but the best for you__  
__Don't forget me, I beg__  
__I remember you said,__  
__Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead.__Never mind, I'll find someone like you__  
__I wish nothing but the best for you too__  
__Don't forget me, I beg__  
__I remember you said,__  
__Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead,__  
__Sometimes it lasts in love but sometimes it hurts instead."_

Apollo let out a breath as he opened his eyes. Everyone in the room started clapping. Nico even found himself clapping. Apollo locked eyes with Nico and gave him a wink. He stood up and bowed before walking over to Thalia and Nico. "Well hello there. What do I owe the pleasure of two such lovely people?" Apollo said with a smile.

Thalia rolled her eyes. "You done?" she asked. Apollo nodded. "Alright. You mind giving us a hand? We went shopping."

"I see that," Apollo chuckled. He picked up two bags and the three of them walked out of the restaurant. "Oh, what's this?" Nico turned to look at him. His eyes widened as he saw some of the underwear Thalia had made him buy. "My, my, Nico. You'll have to model these for me sometime." Nico blushed. Thalia and Apollo shared a laugh. Apollo dropped the fabric back in the bag and the three boarded the elevator.

"We still on for the beach tomorrow, boo?" Thalia asked.

"Of course. I need to work on my tan. So do you, you're looking pale." Apollo poked at Thalia's arm. His eyes glanced over to Nico. "Both of you."

"I'm always pale," Nico mumbled. Nico glanced at Apollo for a moment. "You have a really beautiful voice."

Apollo beamed at him. "Well thank you. I aim to please."

"Don't feed his ego, Nico. He already gets enough of that," Thalia interjected.

Apollo feigned hurt. "Your words cut me deep, beautiful maiden." Thalia rolled her eyes, giving Apollo a shove. Apollo only grinned at her. Nico had really started to notice over the past week that the others really were truly close. They seemed so comfortable with each other that Nico couldn't help but wonder if he would ever really be a part of their tight circle.

"That song sounded like it had meaning to you," Nico stated, killing the laughter. Thalia cleared her throat as Apollo stared down at Nico.

"I suppose it does. A story for another time? It would only ruin the cheerful atmosphere." Nico nodded. "Right now, we need to get ready for work." The trio exited the elevator. "You two go drop your stuff off, and I will see you two in a few at the bar."

* * *

The night had went by without much excitement. Nico exited the elevator into the garage, where the group had agreed to meet. He spotted everyone standing around Thalia and Apollo's cars. Apollo waved Nico over when he saw the boy. Everyone was already dressed in their beach attire. Thalia sat on the back of her car, currently talking with Piper. Calypso, Beckendorf, and Silena were nearby in their own conversation. Nico's eyes fell on a boy by Apollo's side. Judging by his looks, he was Will. Thalia was right, they did look alike. They had the same color blond hair, except Will's was straight and hung down into his eyes. He had the same color blue eyes as Apollo. He was a few inches shorter than Apollo, probably around six feet. They even had the same color tanned skin. If Nico didn't know they weren't related, he wouldn't be able to tell. He looked like a younger version of Apollo.

"Nico, this is Will," Apollo said, motioning to the boy next to him. Will pushed off the back of Apollo's car and shook Nico's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Will said with a smile. Damn, they even had the same bright smile. Nico smiled back at him and moved to stand on Apollo's other side.

"Alright," Thalia said, clapping her hands. "We'll take my and Apollo's cars and divide evenly. Piper, Beckendorf, and Silena can ride with me. The rest of you losers can haul up in Apollo's car." Apollo just rolled his eyes and pulled his keys out. They all piled into the cars and were soon on the road.

Nico sat in the back with Calypso, while the two blonds sat up front. The way the two interacted, you would guess they were brothers. Will kept trying to change the music, and Apollo would keep swatting his hand away. Calypso smiled at their antics. "So, how did you find yourself at the hotel?" Nico asked her, deciding he wanted to get to know the others better.

Calypso pursed her lips, she didn't look happy to answer. "I moved out here after high school, trying to chase my dreams. I had wanted to try modeling, but that didn't work out for me. Long story short, Percy found me and...alleviated a problem I had. He asked me if I had a place to stay, and when I told him no he brought me back to the Lotus."

"You didn't make it as a model? You're so pretty, though. They must have been blind."

Calypso smiled at Nico. "Thank you. I've gotten over it. I'm happy with my life now, I guess." Nico looked out the window as the car stopped. They had arrived at the beach. He opened the door and followed the group across the sand. Thalia stopped and tossed her stuff down, claiming it as their spot. Apollo and Will wasted no time in stripping their shirts. Like Apollo, Will had the surfer body. He noticed something while looking them over, though. None of them had any traces of body hair. All of the guys' legs and underarms were completely barren of hair. Thalia tossed them some sun tan lotion and the blonds went about rubbing it on each other. When they were done, Apollo tossed the bottle to Nico.

Nico fidgeted a little, uncomfortable at having to be shirtless in front of them once again. "You have nothing to be shy about, Nico," Silena said in a soothing voice. "All of our bodies were pretty bad when we first arrived, don't be ashamed. You'll be back to normal soon."

"That reminds me," Thalia said, tapping Apollo with her foot. "I don't suppose any of you boys would help him out and take him to the gym, would you?"

Beckendorf pat Nico on the back. "Sure. The next time we go we'll hit you up, Nico. I'm sure the Stolls or Will could make a good workout buddy for you."

"Stolls?" Nico asked.

"Oh, I guess no one told you their last name. Travis and Connor, the Stoll twins," Piper said, she had sat down on a towel. Nico nodded.

"Are all of you so conscious with your looks? Working out and eating properly?" Nico asked. He had noticed that most of the time the kids ate pretty healthy and now he learned they exercised too.

"Like I said, Nico, it's all about making those big bucks. Customers are more willing to tip if they think you are sexy," Thalia said with a wink.

Nico nodded. He lowered his hands to the bottom of his shirt and pulled it over his head. Everyone smiled at him. "See, now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Apollo said, taking the sun screen from Nico and rubbing it on his back. "You do need this, though. Your skin is very pale, don't want you burning. That wouldn't draw you much attention."

Beckendorf pulled out a volleyball from Silena's bag. "How about a rematch, Apollo?"

Apollo grinned at him. "I think I'd be willing to whip your ass again, big man."

"Then it's a good thing we have even numbers," Calypso added, going to stand with Apollo and Will. It looked like they were forming teams. "Come on, Nico, you can be on our team."

Nico had surprisingly enjoyed the game. They had come out victorious, but he knew it was mostly because of Apollo and Will. The two of them just looked like naturals at everything beach related. Nico had accidentally gotten distracted on a few occasions during the game by staring at their bodies. After the game ended, the group headed into the water. Nico was currently seated on Apollo's shoulders as he faced off against Silena on Beckendorf's shoulders. Nico yelped when Beckendorf tripped Apollo and the two tumbled into the water. Apollo laughed as they emerged from the water, splashing at Beckendorf.

Things quieted down after that. Most of the group left the water and laid out in the sun. Nico stayed out with Apollo in the water, he had wanted to catch the boy alone so he could ask about that song. "Apollo?" Nico asked.

"Hmm?" Apollo asked, shaking his hair. "What's up, Nico?"

"Can I ask about that song you sang? What's it mean to you?"

Apollo's eyes shifted to the water. Nico saw pain flash through his eyes. "Well, when I came out to my father, it wasn't completely about school. I was stupid and did it mostly because of a guy I was seeing at the time. He was a few years older than me, just finishing college. Well, when my dad kicked me out, I just moved in with him. The problem was he had gotten a job offer here in California." Apollo wiped a hand across his face. "I was stupid and moved with him." Nico gave Apollo a sympathetic look. "I lived with him for a while out here, but things got awkward. He kind of was trying to go into politics, so having me around wouldn't have been good for his image."

"He kicked you out on the streets?" Nico asked, shock written on his face.

"You can't tell me you are shocked to learn things like this? I know you've heard some of the others' backstories. We all had bad things happen to us in our pasts. Like we've told you before, the world isn't as nice a place as you think it is. You do what you have to survive, and don't look back on it with regret."

"Did you ever see him again?"

Apollo's eyes seemed to be distant, looking off at the sunset. "Once. After I got the job at the Lotus, he showed up. He had gotten married."

"What did he want?"

"What everyone coming to the Lotus wants. A piece of paradise." Nico looked at him in confusion. Apollo didn't say anything else, though. Nico knew he was done with the conversation. It was sad, all of their stories were. He wondered what Percy's backstory was. Annabeth had said he had not been as nice back when she had first met him, something bad must have happened to him too. He would have to ask Percy about it sometime.

* * *

_So I said I had more news. Well, this is pertaining to the new stories I have in the wings, as well as possibly an actual book. We'll start with the book. I finally got some good inspiration for what I wanted to write for a book, and I've got most of it together now. If it does get written and, by some miracle, gets published, have no fear, there will be a gay pairing. Just not the main pairing. Obviously, I'm not going to talk about anything else related to my idea for a book, but I felt like sharing. If I can't publish it, then I will probably post it somewhere online. And as a reminder, check out my blog, listed on my profile._

_And here's why. I have new stories I'm wanting to work on. Though, when I publish them is up for debate. And I'm working on one, which is PJO right now, but I'm considering stripping it and making it something with original characters. Another is a PJO and I've mentioned before that it will be put out around the end of Children. And now for the reason for checking out my blog. You need to keep up with that, my deviantART, or my Wattpad because I finally have things put together for my original story idea. One of the characters is still being worked on, but I think I have most of it figured out._

_And this is where my interest currently is. All of these have a CoL-like feel to them, which is what I find most of my readers enjoy the most. They have a lot to do with the emotions behind the characters. So, I'm still figuring what I want to do out, but I'll keep you guys posted. Don't worry, the Halloween fic will still be put out as well. But I'm going to go now, I'll see you guys later._

_Side note: Go listen to Mordred's Lullaby. It's not important for this, not really, but I love the lyrics. I say not important, but that's not completely true ;)_


	6. Chapter 6

_Not much to say this time. I'm back to writing, so I should have some new stuff out soon-ish. Still working on what was my Halloween fic, it's just that I was feeling compelled to write something else first. As mentioned before, I'll have a new story soon, one that is something like a multi-chapter Halloween fic for me, minus the blunt gore. It'll be dark, though. But in a different way then Children._

_Warning: Nudity and vague sex. And, no, it does not break the rules. It's not graphic and detailed enough ;) Other than that, heavy language._

Chapter 6

Nico looked at himself in the mirror. A group of the Lost Kids had gathered behind him. They were all inspecting the state of his body. Three weeks had passed since the other Lost Boys had started helping him work out, and Nico's body had finally started to look normal again. They were all currently up in the gym, getting some exercise before work. "See, all you needed was a good diet and the right exercise," Apollo said, placing a hand on Nico's shoulder.

"Gonna get those big tips now," the Stolls said, slapping Nico's stomach.

Apollo had set him up with a diet and exercise plan that he had stuck to for the past three weeks. He had gotten Will and the twins to be Nico's workout partners. The girls had done a good job in making sure Nico ate healthy and stuck to Apollo's diet plan.

Annabeth pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of Nico. "Percy wanted an update on his progress," she said, sending a text message.

"I bet he did," Travis said with a grin. Annabeth just rolled her eyes. Apollo handed Nico his shirt and the boy slipped it on over his head.

Piper clapped her hands together, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Alright, gang, we should head out. We need to be cleaned up for work tonight," she informed them. The group gathered their things and boarded the elevator. It was weird for Nico, after four weeks of living with them, there were still a few of the group that he hadn't met yet. He knew it was a large hotel, but how could he go so long without running into the others?

Percy had been spending more time with Nico, much to his enjoyment. He was really enjoying Percy's visits. He still hadn't asked Percy about his past, though. Part of him was nervous asking about it. He didn't want Percy to pull away from him.

There was a drawback from spending so much time with Percy, though. Luke and Octavian seemed to grow more irritated with him every passing day. They always referred to him as Percy's favorite. Nico did notice a few of the others show small signs of resentment as well. Nothing major, just annoyed stares whenever Percy was in the room with Nico. Apollo and Thalia had assured him it wasn't anything to worry about, but that it was just that Percy treated him differently.

Nico wasn't sure what they meant by that. He had to work every night, and often had day shifts added on during the weekends. He felt worked to the bone, especially with school work to go along with all of it. He didn't see Percy treating him any different. The only thing that seemed different was that Nico didn't seem to have to negotiate hours like the others did. He hadn't thought much about the top floor lately. He had been so busy that his mind was kept occupied.

The group exited the elevator onto their floor, the girls heading off down their hallway. He bid the others farewell as he entered his suite. He flopped down on his couch to relax for a few minutes before he had to get cleaned up. He flipped on the TV and searched for something to watch.

When it was getting close to an hour until he had to be at work, he shut off the TV and headed for the bathroom. He slipped himself out of his clothes and turned on the shower. He slipped inside the glass shower and started rinsing himself off. This time, he actually let his eyes look down at his body. It was such a relief to him to not look so grotesque anymore. There was even the tiniest bit of muscle starting to show. Nico let his head fall back on the shower wall, letting the water wash over him.

Looking at the terrible shape his body was in had been so hard on him. He couldn't recall a single day where he didn't cry looking at his naked form. While he was thankful for Percy pulling him off the streets, he couldn't help resenting his father for putting him through all of that. If it hadn't been for Percy, he probably would have died out there.

Nico shut the water off and grabbed a towel. He dried himself off and grabbed his toothbrush. Brushing at his teeth, he inspected his face in the mirror. The dark circles under his eyes had finally vanished. Several of the Lost Kids had even started complementing him on his features. Things like his soft black hair, and almost matching dark brown eyes. His skin still was pale, since he had told Apollo he couldn't tan. Percy had complemented him on his improved appearance as well, saying that Nico's eyes were one of his favorite features. Nico noticed his cheeks darken in the mirror at the memory.

He left the bathroom and headed for his bedroom. He set about pulling out some clothes to go to work in. He slipped into his pants and slid the shirt over his head. He shut his bedroom door behind him as he made his way back into the kitchen. He should probably eat something before going to work. He had some leftover pasta from lunch earlier, he figured that would work.

After he finished eating, Nico left his suite and headed for the elevator. Will was standing by the elevator when he arrived. He gave Nico a smile as the dark haired boy approached. "You working the bar tonight?" Nico asked.

"Yep, you headed up there too?" Will replied as they both stepped on the elevator.

"Yeah."

Will nodded and slid his card into the slot before hitting the button for the bar. A few moments later they stepped out into the bar. Nico had gotten used to the noise by now, it seemed so normal to him now. They headed over to the bar and signed in. Chiron tossed them their aprons after they were finished.

Thalia walked over, handing Chiron some empty glasses. "I'm so glad the two of you could join us," she joked. Will rolled his eyes at her as he put on his apron. Nico glanced over at the elevator when it opened, letting Reyna off of it. One thing Nico had noticed was that Reyna liked to keep to herself for the most part. There were only a few of the others that she would really be seen hanging around during free time. She wore her normal emotionless expression as she signed in quickly and headed onto the floor. Nico pulled his pad and pen out before following her lead.

* * *

The hours seemed to creep by at a snail's pace for Nico. He had had one customer tonight that just seemed like he was purposefully trying to give Nico a hard time. Nico was relieved when he finally got to go on break. He plopped down onto the couch in the break room, letting out a long sigh. Reyna came in a few moments after him and went over to the small fridge they had in there. She pulled out a bottle of water and sat down in the chair next to the couch. She seemed content in the silence, Nico observed. She was one of the few people that seemed to be a little bitter at Nico for how Percy treated him.

Nico bit his lip as he stared at her. He wanted to get to know all of the Lost Children, even the ones that intimidated him. "Reyna, can I ask you something?" he asked quietly.

She glanced over at him, taking another drink of water. "Sure, kid, what's up?"

"Well, I was just wondering what your story was? Everyone else seems to have a tragic story about how they got here, and I was just curious what happened to you."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know."

Nico pouted at her. "I just wanted to get to know you better."

She held out her wrist, exposing her tattoo to Nico. "I got this from my old life. I ran away from home when I was around your age. I was dating this guy, at the time, and he was involved in a gang. Well, he told me if I wanted to be with him, I had to join them. So, the stupid young me decided to do it. They branded me with this and let me be in their 'family'. I use the word very loosely. It wasn't anything like we are here." She began rubbing her marked wrist softly. "After I ran away, I moved into their crib and stayed there. I did drugs for a short while in my time there, so trust me when I say you shouldn't try any of it."

"How did you get from there to here?"

Reyna's eyes darkened, her mouth set into a firm line. "That bastard cheated on me, only I didn't know it right away. Percy showed up one day, furious at my boyfriend for not paying something." She paused for a moment. "I'll leave out all the boring details, but he told me that my asshole of a boyfriend had cheated on me. I wanted to kill him so badly, but...never mind. Anyways, Percy pulled me out of there and brought me back here."

"Do you know how Percy found out that your boyfriend cheated on you?"

"I do," Reyna replied, taking another drink of water. Nico waited for an elaboration, but it never came. Reyna just went back to sitting in silence, occasionally taking a sip of water. Nico tilted his head to look back at the ceiling. He figured it was best to just leave her be. He had gotten to know her just a little bit better, and that's what he had wanted. Yet another tragic story was laid out before him.

He was thankful that it was the weekend, school today had been exhausting. He had his first major test since his return to the educational system, and he was hoping he still managed to keep his good grades. Sighing, Nico pulled himself off of the couch to get back to work.

Percy hadn't shown up tonight, which made Nico frown to himself. Most nights the green eyed boy came to the bar for a few minutes. There were the rare nights that he wouldn't show up at all, though. Nico supposed this was one of those nights.

Finally, they were released from their duties, once the last of the customers had left. They all boarded the elevator and headed down to their floor. "Any plans for tomorrow, Thals?" Will asked, popping his back.

"I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know," the black haired girl replied

"How about something relaxing? I could use a good day of relaxation," Reyna added.

"Amen to that," said Will. The elevator doors opened and they headed out onto their floor. The girls bid them goodnight before heading down the hall. Will waved at Nico as he passed Nico's door. Nico watched him head down the hall and stop in front of Apollo's room.

"You live with Apollo?" Nico asked.

The blond looked back at Nico and nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"I needed to ask him something about the diet plan he gave me. Do you think he's in yet?"

Will shrugged. "I don't know. You're welcome to come in and see. You can wait for him, if he's not." Nico nodded and walked over to where Will stood. The blond inserted his card and pushed the door open. "Oh god!" Will yelled, trying to shut the door.

It had been too late, though. Nico's eyes had immediately landed on Percy and Apollo on the couch together. They were completely naked and currently in the middle of sex. They both froze when the door opened. "Shit," he heard Percy mumble, already pulling out of Apollo. Percy grabbed for his pants, throwing them on as fast as he could. Apollo sat there, a shocked expression on his face. His mouth kept opening and closing, unable to find any words to say.

Nico felt tears burning in his eyes. "Shit, I'm sorry guys. I didn't know," Will said. Nico started to back up. Will tried to make a grab for him, but he jerked his arm away.

"Nico, wait. You don't understand," Percy said, jogging towards the door. Nico didn't wait, though. He bolted to his door. Percy pushed past Will into the hall. "Nico, please listen to me." Nico fumbled for his keycard. His hands were shaking so bad that he almost dropped it. Percy had come to stand right next to him. He refused to look at Percy, though. He didn't trust himself to not waver from the boy's eyes. He wiped at his face as he slid his card into the door.

Apollo came out into the hall, having put on some pants. Nico heard some doors open down the hall, other Lost Children looking outside to see what the commotion was. "Nico, please listen. You really don't understand," Apollo pleaded.

"Leave me alone!" Nico yelled. He opened his door and slammed it behind him, refusing to let any of them into his suite. He bolted the door, so that Percy couldn't use his master key to get himself in. He didn't want to see him now. Nico went over to the couch and curled up on it, letting his tears fall.

There came a frantic knock at the door. "Nico, please open the door. Let me talk to you. I can explain," Percy's voice came from the other side. Nico didn't budge, though. Any other time he would have jumped in a heartbeat to let Percy in his room, but not tonight. His phone started going off, he pulled it out to see Apollo's name on the caller ID. He threw his phone to the floor so he didn't have to look at the name on the screen.

He heard running in the hall and soon another voice was heard outside. "What the hell is going on?" came Thalia's raised voice. There was hushed talking on the other side, Nico could no longer make it out. Then there was knocking again. "Nico? It's Thalia. Can I come in to talk?"

"No! Everyone just leave me alone!" Nico yelled, refusing to move from the couch. There was more hushed talking. Nico heard a few footsteps and a door closing.

"Nico, I'm going to get everyone to leave you alone, but I want to come talk to you in the morning." Nico didn't care. He didn't want to talk to them. He rubbed at his face as he dragged himself off of the couch. His stomach felt sick and his head was spinning. His phone went off again, this time it was a text message. He wasn't sure if it would be wise to look at it, but against his better judgment he picked it up. It was a message from Percy.

_ Nico, I'm sorry you had to see that. It's really not what it looks like. I really want to explain it to you. I'll talk to you tomorrow._

Nico bit his lip, debating typing a reply. He shook his head, placing his phone on the kitchen counter. He went to the fridge and grabbed bottle of water. He headed back to his room, placing his drink on his nightstand. He collapsed on his bed, letting out a single sob into the comforter. He didn't even bother undressing. He just curled up on his bed and cried himself to sleep.

* * *

Nico stood in his shower, letting the water beat down on him. He was stupid. Stupid for ever getting his hopes up that he might have the slightest chance with Percy. Why did he try to fool himself? How could Apollo betray him like that, though? Surely Apollo knew that Nico had a crush on their boss. The blond acted like he knew of the crush. Yet he still did this to Nico.

He didn't feel betrayed by Percy. He couldn't. No, he felt something else for the green-eyed manager. He was hurt. Percy had hurt him. Nico didn't own him, though. They weren't dating. Percy had every right to go and have sex with whoever he wanted to. Nico had no claim to him. It didn't change how much it hurt, though. He wanted to be with Percy. In his entire life, he had never wanted something like this. He had never wanted something so badly. Now Percy truly was out of his grasp. How could Nico ever hope to compete with Apollo? Apollo was gorgeous.

He wiped at his eyes and shut off the water. Stepping out, he grabbed a towel and slowly dried himself off. He didn't want to go anywhere today. He didn't want to run the risk of running into either Percy or Apollo. He couldn't face either of them. He wrapped the towel around his waist and left the bathroom. He needed to check his phone. Hopefully, fate would be on his side and he wouldn't have Apollo on shift with him tonight.

Picking up his phone, he ignored all of his missed calls and texts. He opened his daily email from Leo, inspecting his coworkers. "Fuck," he mumbled. He had no such luck. There was Apollo's name clear as day in the email. He would have to force himself to ignore Apollo. There was no way he wouldn't crumble to pieces if they actually spoke. He would probably have the urge to punch Apollo in his perfect face.

A new call came in, it was Thalia. Nico sighed and decided to talk to the girl. "Hello?" he asked quietly.

"Nico! Finally! We were beginning to think you died in there," came the girl's reply.

"No, I'm...fine."

"You don't have to lie to me, Nico. Look, this place isn't paradise. We call it an illusion for a reason. This place majorly bites, especially when you first get here. Trust me. I remember when I first started here. I hated it. You're going to hate it for a while too."

"You're not going to tell me to hear them out, are you?"

Thalia chuckled through the phone. "No. I know you probably hate both of them right now. If I were in your position, I wouldn't want to talk to them either. I just wanted to invite you out to take your mind off of things."

"Apollo won't be there?" Nico asked, biting his lip.

"Nope. I haven't even told him about this. Annabeth and I were going to go down to the spa. I wanted to know if you wanted to go? It might help you take your mind off things."

Nico ran a hand through his drying hair. "I-I guess. Yeah."

He could practically see Thalia smile through the phone. "Great! I'll be over in ten. Be ready to go by then." Nico hung up the phone and went back to the bathroom to get ready.

After brushing his teeth, he went to his bedroom and found something comfortable to wear. He didn't feel like dressing up too much. He would come back before work and change clothes. There was a knock at the door. Nico went and peered through the hole. Sure enough, it was Thalia. He opened the door and let her in. "Hey," he mumbled quietly.

"Shit, Nico. You look like hell," the girl said, raising his face to look at her. "Did you cry all night?" Nico nodded. "I'm sorry. I-I did try to warn you. Percy's not someone you want to develop actual feelings for."

"I know. I was being stupid."

"You weren't being stupid. A lot of people fall for Percy when they first get here. You're not the first, and you probably won't be the last." Nico nodded, wiping at his nose. "You ready to go?" Nico nodded again. Thalia led him out the door and down the hall to the elevator.

Waiting at the elevator was Annabeth. "You got him out of his room after all I see," the blonde mused. Nico didn't say anything, just standing there in silence, staring at the floor. Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "Wow, he really is shaken up. He actually walked in on them?"

Thalia sighed. "Yes, because Will wasn't using his head, and the two of them were idiots and used the couch."

"They do this a lot?" Nico asked.

Neither of the girls seemed to want to answer. They boarded the elevator and hit the ground floor button. "You got some waking up to do, Nico," Annabeth stated plainly. "We told you before, this place isn't sugar and rainbows."

"I just...never mind. I was just being stupid. I let myself believe I had a chance with him. I thought he might actually like me back," Nico whispered. The girls shared a look, refusing to comment on the subject.

"I told you, Percy doesn't take an interest in us," Thalia said, putting her arm around Nico.

"You shouldn't be mad at Apollo either," added Annabeth. "It was just business."

"Business?" Nico asked, looking up at the blonde girl.

Thalia shot her a look. "Relax, Percy will probably fill him in a little once Nico cools off." Annabeth faced Nico once again. "That is the answer to your question on how we discuss hours with Percy." Nico cocked his head to the side. Annabeth sighed. "Apollo was trying to get more hours...upstairs, and to do that you are required to...prove to Percy that you are deserving of the hours."

"By letting him fuck you?"

"Like I said, not as nice of a place as you might think." The elevator opened and the three exited it. Nico followed the two girls around the corner towards the pool. They turned another corner, now heading away from the pool. They came to two open glass doors. Circe's Spa was written on a sign above the door.

Inside a tall woman stood behind a desk. Her piercing green eyes were currently busy looking through a magazine. She had long dark hair, eloquently braided with gold thread. She was a thin woman, currently adorned by a long silky black dress. A small stuffed guinea pig lay on her desk next to her computer. She glanced away from her magazine to look at the three new arrivals. She smiled and walked around the desk to usher them farther into the room. "Ah, Annabeth and Thalia, I was wondering when you were going to return to me," the woman said. Her eyes fell upon Nico. Her lips turned down into a frown upon inspecting him. "And who is this?"

"Oh, this is Nico. He's sort of new here," Annabeth replied.

"Nico, this is Circe, the spa manager," Thalia stated. She turned her attention to Circe. "Do you think you could squeeze the three of us in? We could use a spa day. Especially Nico, he had a rough night last night."

Circe tapped her cheek. She walked over to her desk and ran through her time schedule. "I suppose I could squeeze the three of you in, but only since the two of you are my favorite customers," Circe said, pointing to the girls. They smiled and dragged Nico towards the back.

They were ushered into separate rooms to get out of their clothes and into some robes they were provided with. After that, they were led into a large room with some tables set up in the middle. Nico's cheeks started burning when the girl's started to remove their robes. They had their backs to him, so he didn't see anything and, luckily, they had their underwear still on.

Nico slipped his robe off of his shoulders and climbed onto the table. The door opened again, Circe and two other girls came inside. One of the girls came over to Nico's table to get started on his massage. He felt his cheeks flush when the girl commented on his soft skin. Apparently, it was softer than a lot of the girls she massaged.

As the massage team was busy with their job, the girls decided to see how Nico was doing. "Are you at least feeling less depressed than you were last night," Thalia asked, voice full of concern.

"I don't know," Nico replied. "I'm not really sure how I'm supposed to be feeling. It's not like he cheated on me. I know he has every right to do as he pleases."

"It happens," Annabeth added in.

"A lot?"

"Whenever we want better time slots, yes."

Nico frowned. "You mean you've both had sex with him too?"

Thalia cleared her throat. "I tried to warn you, Nico," she said softly. "It's not paradise here. It's what we have to do."

"Have to? Can't you just get by with the hours he gives you? Percy seems like a fair person."

"Try telling that to some of the others," Annabeth replied. "It's a harsh world we live in here, Nico. You have to understand that. Not to be cruel, but to survive here, you have to throw out almost everything you thought you knew about the world. It doesn't work the way a lot of people think it does."

"What Annabeth is trying to say," Thalia said sternly, "is that Percy isn't someone you need to go after. You are where you are, and you should be happy there. You don't want to be where we are. You don't want to have to do what we have to do. Percy did you a favor by keeping you in the bar."

Nico's face grew dark. He was tired of everyone telling him that. They treated him like a child. "Fair that he'll have his way with you and not with me?" Nico sat up, startling the girl massaging him. She tried to get him to lie back down, but Nico wouldn't do it. "I'm tired of being treated like a child around here. Am I so repulsive to Percy that he doesn't want to touch me like the rest of you? What the fuck is so important about upstairs anyways?" Nico began yelling, Thalia and Annabeth stared at him in shock. Circe and both of her girls had stopped doing their job. Everyone was staring at him, but he didn't care. He huffed and jumped off the bed, marching back to the changing room.

He slipped his clothes back on and opened the door. Thalia was there waiting for him. "Nico, wait. Please don't get mad at us," she pleaded. He wasn't going to listen. He pushed past her and sprinted for the exit. Her voice slowly began fading behind him, until he was approaching the elevator.

He slipped his card into its slot and hit the button to his floor, fighting back more tears as they threatened to surface. He exited the elevator, brushing past the Stolls, who were waiting to board. "Nico? Shit, he's still upset," Travis said. Nico heard them trying to follow him. He quickened his pace and slid his card into its slot. He slammed the door behind him, refusing to hear what either of them had to say. He didn't want to talk to any of them. They were all the same. If it hadn't been Apollo it would have been one of the others.

* * *

Nico silently clocked in, one arm wrapped around himself. He was aware of his coworkers' eyes on him. They all wanted to try and say something, but none of them would make the first move. Everyone except Luke, that is. The asshole seemed so happy with what had happened. Apollo kept trying to give him the puppy-dog eyes, but Nico refused to look at him. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He only looked at the person because he knew it was Chiron. Chiron was the only person Nico couldn't bring himself to be mad at right now. He doubted the bartender did the same things that the rest of them did. "Are you alright, Nico?" he asked gently. "I can request you get the night off, if you prefer."

"No, that's ok. I'll be fine," Nico whispered back. Chiron squeezed his shoulder and went back to work. Nico sighed and headed over to his first table. He tried to look happy for the customers, but he was sure that he failed miserably. Piper reached out for him when he headed back with the orders, but she pulled her hand back when she saw he wasn't going to stop for her.

"Nico," he heard Apollo whisper behind him. He turned around and fixed the blond with an emotionless stare. Nico wanted to get across to the traitor that he was dead to him now. Apollo bit his lip, looking down at the floor. "I'm really sorry, Nico. You weren't meant to see that."

Nico just stared at him for a few seconds longer, and then brushed past him to take the drinks to the table he had just come from. Their group effort was just making Nico angrier. Their unity and sense of family was grating on his nerves. How could they defend this? How could each of them do this? They knew that each of the others had sex with Percy, but none of it seemed to bother them.

A few hours later, Percy came into the bar. Nico was heading back to the bar when Percy grabbed Nico's arm and spun Nico to face him. "Can I help you?" Nico asked, his voice drained of all emotion. It made Percy's eyes flash with hurt for a brief moment.

"Can we talk? You really don't understand," Percy stated.

"What's not to understand? The others want better hours so you get them to fuck you to earn them." Percy's jaw tightened. His eyes flashed with anger for a brief second. He took a breath to calm himself.

"Look, I just don't want you to be mad at me. You weren't supposed to see that."

"I'm sure I would have found out eventually. If it wasn't Apollo I'm sure I would have found out about one of the other one's you fuck around with." Nico yanked his arm free of Percy's grasp, walking back to the bar. Percy followed after him. "What I don't understand is why I'm exempt from this? Do I repulse you, or something?"

He heard Percy groan behind him. "Why would you even think that? Because I choose to keep your innocence intact?" Percy asked, voice becoming harsher as he spoke. "Excuse me for wanting to keep you out of that lifestyle. I thought I was doing you a favor."

Nico huffed and walked into the break room. He heard Percy groan in frustration right before the door shut. Thankfully, Percy didn't follow him back there. However, Nico wasn't alone in the room. Silena smiled at him as he came to sit down in the chair next to the couch. Could he not get away from them? Could he not have a single moment to himself?

There was a long, awkward silence between the two. Nico figured she knew he was irritated at all of them. She finally cleared her throat and spoke up. "I know you probably don't want to talk about it, but for what it's worth, I'm sorry you had to see that."

"Why?" Nico asked harshly.

"Because, I'm with Charlie, and I don't like having to do what I have to do. I can understand what you're going through. You like him, Percy that is. It was hard seeing him with Apollo, especially considering what they were doing. You probably hate us right now, I wouldn't blame you if you did, but trust me when I say you really don't know the whole story."

"How can I when all of you keep me in the dark?"

Silena frowned. "It might be better if you didn't know what the reality of things around here is. I think Percy and Apollo would both rather you hate them for what you saw, than to have you suffer like the rest of us."

"Suffer? You all seem happy to me, how can you say you're suffering?"

Silena's face became solemn. "What you see is a charade, every one of us wears a mask to hide how damaged and fucked up we really are." She stood up and headed for the door, turning around to face Nico before leaving. "And that's only for the customers and to get by. What you saw is normal for us here, and we act like it's no big deal because it's not. If you want to live here, you better start realizing you aren't in your little bubble of a world anymore." With that she pushed through the door and walked back into the busy bar.

Nico frowned at the door, pulling his legs up to his chest. The fake walls of this place were starting to crumble around him. Why couldn't he go back to it being the perfect place he thought it was? He wiped at his eyes as he felt tears starting to surface.

Nico looked up as the door opened once again. Luke rolled his eyes at the sight of Nico. "Is crying your only setting?" he said with annoyance as he laid down on the couch.

"Leave me alone," Nico mumbled.

"Aww, is the poor baby realizing that perfect Percy isn't the golden angel you thought he was?" Luke chuckled dryly at him. "You haven't even hit the tip of the iceberg yet, kid. You better start carrying around a box of tissues. The Percy you thought you knew doesn't exist. As your time goes on here, you're just going to fall farther and farther down the rabbit hole, until you finally shed light on how fucked up Percy and the rest of us really are."

Nico's cheeks stung as he wiped at his eyes once again. He couldn't get himself to stop crying anymore. "Shut up."

"He must really find you unattractive if he won't fuck you like everyone else." Nico began sobbing into his arm. "Did you really think you were his favorite? You wouldn't even last one night upstairs. You're too weak. You're just a child in his eyes, and that's why he stuck you down here. Because he knew you couldn't handle life up there."

"Fuck you!"

"No thanks, Percy already fills that need." The door swung open again and Chiron stepped inside, with Percy, Silena, Piper, and Apollo following close behind.

"What is going on back here?" Chiron asked. "Why was there yelling?" Chiron glanced at Nico. "And why is he crying?" Chiron glared down at Luke, who just shrugged.

"Can't you go one night without being an ass, Luke?" Piper asked, walking over to Nico. She tried wrapping an arm around him, but he shoved her off. She frowned at him, but stepped back.

"I want you to take me upstairs," Nico mumbled.

"What?" Percy asked, stepping farther in the room.

"I said, I want to go upstairs. I'm not a kid, and I'm tired of being treated like one! You said I don't understand? Well show me, explain it to me. I'm tired of being clueless about things around here!" Nico yelled. "All of you are in on this big secret, and none of you will let me know what's going on. Take me upstairs, I'm tired of all of this bullshit."

"Nico, don't-" Chiron started, but Luke interrupted him.

"No, let him go upstairs. Let him see this place for what it really is. He thinks he's all grown up, so let him go prove it."

"Luke," Percy said warningly. He stepped closer to where Nico stood. "Nico, you don't know what you're asking. Please reconsider this."

Nico shook his head furiously. "No! I want you to take me upstairs. I want to know what the big fucking deal is about it. I want to be like the others, I'm not a fucking kid, and I'm going to prove it."

Percy sighed heavily. "Alright. I'll have Leo give you tomorrow night off. I'll come get you around ten, be ready by then." He turned around and headed back towards the door. He stopped right before walking out, not looking back. "Don't say I didn't try."

Nico looked around the room. Everyone was looking at him with sadness, except Luke. Luke had a cocky grin plastered on his face. Seeing it only made Nico more determined to wipe it off his face tomorrow night. "Nico, please listen to Percy," Piper began. "You don't know what you're asking for."

"I've made up my mind," Nico said, walking out of the break room.

* * *

Nico sat on his couch, silently watching the clock. It was nearly ten. His nerves were at an all new high. He didn't really know what to expect tonight, but he knew he had to show them that he wasn't a kid. He had had a lot of trouble sleeping last night. The anticipation of this moment was killing him. He had wanted to know what was on the top floor since he had gotten here, and he finally was getting what he wanted. Why did Percy seem so sad over this, though? Shouldn't he be happy that Nico was trying to be grownup?

A knock at the door startled him out of his thoughts. He jumped off of the couch and walked over to the door. He found Percy standing in the doorway, a serious look on his face. His eyes made Nico uncomfortable, that wasn't something uncommon, but now it was for a different reason. Percy looked at him like he betrayed Percy. Percy's dark black hair fell down into his face, casting shadows across Percy's facial features. He had on a dark blue button up shirt and a pair of dark pants.

"Ready?" Percy asked with a sigh. Nico nodded. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Yes," came Nico's quiet reply. Percy gestured down the hall and Nico shut the door behind him. They walked down towards the elevator and waited for it to arrive. Nico glanced up at Percy, but the taller boy refused to look down at him.

They boarded the elevator and Percy slipped his card into the slot. He slammed his fist on the seventieth floor button and they began to ascend. Nico's heart started beating faster and his palms started to sweat. Maybe he should have backed out. No, then Luke would just give him more hell. Nico had something to prove. Nico let out a breath as he stared at the metal doors of the elevator. Percy glanced down at him finally. He didn't say anything, just watched Nico for a few seconds until the elevator doors opened.

The lights in the hall were dimmer than on the other floors, the only source of light came from small lights that lined the floor along the walls. The two people from Nico's last trip here stood at the two podiums. Two lines of people stood in front of both of them, slipping money to the boy and girl and walking down one of the two hallways. Percy walked out and Nico decided to follow. The girl and boy both looked up at Percy as he approached. "He's with me, Clarisse," Percy said, addressing the tall girl. Percy dragged Nico over to the boy's booth and the boy pulled out a stamp. Nico held out his hand and the Asian kid placed his stamp on Nico's hand. "Thanks, Ethan."

Percy grabbed Nico's arm and the two headed off down the hall to the right. Nico could feel his heart speeding up even more. He was afraid it was going to burst from his chest at this point. They came to a small set of stairs. Nico could hear music blaring from up the stairs.

Percy grabbed Nico's hand when he noticed the boy wasn't following him. He led Nico upstairs. The first things Nico noticed as they ascended the steps were the flashing lights. The music became louder, becoming distinguishable as the Zazoo Remix of Ellie Goulding's "Lights". They finally came to the top and stepped onto the floor of the room. Nico's jaw almost dropped.

There were tables set up all over the room, with many men and women sitting around at all of them. Nico's eyes fell upon some of the Lost Boys as they walked around the room. The only clothing they wore were bow ties around their necks and speedos to cover their lower extremities. Nico's eyes finally fell on the stage on the other side of the room.

He unconsciously licked his lips at the sight of the three boys on stage. Apollo and the Stoll twins were all on stage, in nothing but small black speedos. Apollo was currently letting his hand slowly slide down his chest, letting his thumb hook into the top of his speedo. All three of them were slowly moving their bodies along with the music that was blasting from the speakers.

Connor ended up crawling on the floor with his back arched, he crawled over to his brother. Connor wrapped one of his arms around his brother's waist, while the other slipped into Travis's inner thigh. Connor laid his head against Travis's hip as Travis slid his hand along his torso.

Apollo had spun around and had bent over, earning quite a few whistles from the crowd. He turned his head and winked at his audience as he rose back up, letting his hands trail up his legs. His hands traveled up until they rested on his butt. He grabbed the fabric and slowly slipped the speedo down, revealing the top of his ass to everyone.

"Welcome to Neverland," Percy said, bringing Nico out of his trance.

"The top floor is a strip club?" Nico said over the loud music.

"Only for only those who can afford it. This is why the others make more than you." Nico looked back over at the stage. Apollo caught Nico's eye and he noticed the blond frown for a brief second.

"Well, look who made it to the big boys' club," Luke said, walking up to Percy and Nico. He was dressed like the other waiters up here, only in a bow tie and speedo. Nico looked up at Percy. Percy's green eyes were intently watching Nico. He almost looked like he was pleading, Nico wasn't sure for what response, though.

Nico honestly didn't know what to feel right now. He just found out that all of these people he had come to know were strippers. To be a part of this, Nico would have to become one too. This was what they had all been warning him about, but now he didn't know if he could actually say no anymore. He had come this far, it didn't seem like turning back was an option. Could he do it? He had never seen anything like this. He was just that innocent kid like his sister had said he was. Nico looked over and saw Luke smirking at Nico, like he had already won. In that moment, Nico's decision was made for him. "I want to do it."


	7. Chapter 7

_I'm going to be nice and give another update. I have some news, but I don't really feel ready to share this bit of information. It feels a little odd for me, and it's part of what has had me distracted as of late. I'm going to continue thinking this over, but I will be sharing this with the rest of you before I post anything new(as in past chapter 30 of Children and anything I haven't posted yet in anything else). I am working on something new, though. I figure you guys that have read through all 30 chapters of Children need something new to read while we catch up. So I have a new story, and I'm going to post it when I get two or three more chapters written. I'll also be finishing up what was the Halloween fic and posting it as well. And I do feel like writing something new for Children, so I'll be working on new chapters for it as well._

_But I had some people point out some nice things about rereading these chapters again. Most people were complaining about the way Percy acts in later chapters, but now that they are reading over these older chapters, they are reminded of what all Nico has done along the way. It's also a nice way of seeing how Nico has matured as the story progresses._

_Warning: Some sexual themes. Language. Alcohol._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters._

Chapter 7

"You what?" Luke asked, eyes bulging. Nico looked back up at Percy, who was refusing to meet Nico's gaze. He had a frown firmly set in place and his eyes had become cold. He pointed his thumb over his shoulder, signaling Luke to get back to work. Luke gave Nico a final look of shock before walking off with his tray of drinks.

"Are you sure?" Percy asked. His tone was unreadable. His eyes fell back upon Nico. Nico thought they almost looked like they were begging him to reconsider. Nico nodded his head and Percy sighed. Percy held up his hands. "Alright, don't say I didn't warn you." Percy walked over to a table and took a seat. Nico followed after him, sliding into a chair next to Percy. "I suggest you take notes."

Nico's gaze travelled back up to the stage. Apollo and the twins were finishing up their performance. They had pulled a woman onto the stage with her chair, and Apollo was currently straddling her. Nico looked back at Percy, who was watching him intently. "Why did you keep me out of here then? Do I not have what it takes?" Nico asked.

Percy shook his head. "No, that's not it at all. I just didn't think you could handle it."

Nico frowned. "Why not?"

Percy gave him a small smile. "You're sort of innocent, Nico." Nico's frown grew. "I don't mean it in a bad way. It's cute." Nico perked up. Percy looked back at the stage. "I'm sure you could use your innocence to get some customers, but there's more to this place than getting naked for some cash."

Will walked up to their table. He glanced over at Nico and raised an eyebrow. "Want anything to drink, Percy?" Will asked, looking back at Percy.

"Yeah, get me a bottle of everclear and a shot glass." Will had been looking down at his pad, but his head snapped up to look at Percy when he ordered. Will visibly gulped and took a step back. Will looked over at Nico. "He's not having alcohol." Will nodded and walked off.

"Did you used to do this?" Nico asked. He watched as Apollo and the Stolls bowed before walking backstage.

"Yes, but that was several years ago. I don't do it anymore."

"Why not?"

Percy arched an eyebrow at Nico. "Disappointed?" Nico blushed and shook his head furiously. "I have an image to maintain now. I can't go around taking off my clothes for all of these people."

Will came back and sat a bottle and a shot glass on the table. "Let me know if you need anything else," Will said with a smile before walking back off. Nico looked back to the stage when the clapping got louder again. A buff guy walked on the stage. His head was shaved and he had brown eyes. On each of his biceps were rainbows, circling around his arm. Like all of the other Lost Kids, he didn't have any body hair.

"Who's that? I haven't met him yet," Nico asked over the music. Percy poured himself a shot and tossed it back.

"That's Butch, I'll introduce you to him later. Don't be intimidated when you meet him, he's not a bad guy at all," Percy replied, pouring himself another shot.

"So, you and Apollo-"

Percy held up a hand. "Just business."

"You never take an interest in any of the people you bring in here?"

Percy studied him for a moment. Percy took another shot before replying. "I've never had any interest in any of the one's I brought up here and put to work." Percy poured himself another shot.

"Shouldn't you slow down?" Nico asked, glancing at the bottle.

Percy shrugged. "The stuff doesn't bother me. Besides, I need something to clear my head right now."

"Why?"

Percy fiddled with the bottle for a moment. "I just do."

Nico bit his lip. Had he done something wrong? Shouldn't Percy be happy he was willing to do this? He was trying to show Percy he was mature. "So, you have sex with all of them for business?"

Percy huffed. "If you don't like this life, I can always put you back down at the ba-"

"No! I didn't mean it like that! I was just curious as to why you do it."

Percy took another shot. "Well, our group around here probably views sex differently than you do. It's just something fun. The Lost Kids have sex with each other if they want to, but it's business with me."

Nico let that sink in for a moment before replying. It seemed a little odd to him, but at the same time didn't shock him that much. He knew they were very close, and it wasn't surprising to learn they had all messed around. "Because they want better hours up here?"

Percy nodded. "It's all a game of seduction up here, and they try and show me they deserve to be up here. I start off giving them all the same amount of hours. They work to persuade me they should get more hours, those that don't end up working, end up suffering. So, I guess it's sort of a game to them."

"That doesn't bother you?" Nico asked with a frown. He didn't really like the idea of all of the friends he had been making having sex with Percy.

Percy shrugged. "I'm indifferent about it. It's not anything special with them, so why should it matter?" He leaned closer to Nico. "Maybe if I felt something it would be different," he whispered in Nico's ear. Nico felt his pulse quicken. His pupils dilated and he felt himself harden between his legs. Percy just smirked to himself and took another drink, fully aware of what he had done to Nico.

"S-So what happens now?" Nico stuttered.

"You'll start your training tomorrow."

"Training?"

Percy snorted. "Yes, Nico. I don't think you possess the...art of seduction quite yet."

"Who's going to teach me?"

Percy took another shot. "I'll have the boys work with you as a group for a lot of it, and I'll give you a more...private lesson after that." Nico gulped at the emphasis put on the end of his statement. "Don't worry, Nico, I don't bite...much."

"So, I'm going to be taught to dance on stage while taking off my clothes?"

"Well, that's part of it. This is all about knowing how to work your body to get what you want: money. You have to know how to move just right. You'll have to learn the right things to say."

"How long before I'm up on that stage?" Nico asked.

Nico noticed Percy frown before taking another shot. "Whenever I feel that you are ready." After Butch's performance had ended, Percy stood up and nodded over to a door by the stage. "Come on, I'll show you around backstage."

Percy led him across the floor and they headed towards a door beside the stage. Percy pushed it open and guided Nico into the door. They found the boy's that were performing that night lounging around backstage. The twins had taken up a couch, with Connor leaning back against Travis. Nico covered his eyes as he spotted Apollo. The blond was currently naked, in the process of putting on a jockstrap.

"Nico!" the twins cried in unison. All the other boys stopped what they were doing to look in Percy and Nico's direction. Apollo slid on his jockstrap and headed over to the duo. The rest of the boys followed his lead and walked over.

Nico glanced over at Butch, who was staring down at him with a curious look. "Nico, this is Butch," Percy said, gesturing between them. Nico flinched a little when he felt Percy's hand rest on his lower back.

Butch held out his hand and Nico shook it. His hand was almost as big as Beckendorf's. It engulfed Nico's hand. Butch definitely had a firm grip, and he could probably crush Nico's hand if he wanted to. "I finally get to meet the new kid," Butch said, letting a smile spread across his face.

Nico glanced over at Apollo, who looked like a kicked puppy. Nico felt torn. On one hand, he was still mad at Apollo for having sex with Percy. On the other hand, he knew it was something Apollo had to do for his job. "I see you have no shame in hiding your body, Apollo," Nico said with a smirk.

Apollo grinned at him, visibly brightening. "Well, it's not like everyone here hasn't seen me naked already anyways. So, what's the harm in hiding it?" Apollo said. Nico wasn't sure how serious he was being with that, after talking about it with Percy, it didn't seem improbable that all of the Lost Kids had seen each other naked.

"So, Nico, what do you think?" Travis asked.

"He's your new co-worker," Percy said.

"Awesome!" Connor said happily. Apollo glanced over at Percy, and Nico noticed a slight frown briefly appear on Apollo's face. Percy just shrugged back at the blond.

"Training starts with him tomorrow, I expect all of you to be in the gym tomorrow afternoon. Make sure the others know to be there as well."

"Roger, boss," Connor said with a mock salute. Percy just rolled his eyes. "So, Nico, have you been enjoying the show?"

"Uh...well it's not what I pictured was up here. Though, it does explain a lot. I think it's interesting, to say the least," Nico replied. He glanced up at Percy. "So, I'll be making the same as them now?"

The Stolls and Butch started laughing. "He's going to be-" Travis said while laughing, but Percy cut him off.

"No," Percy said. "He's just going to start working the stage. Nothing else."

"Is there more to this?" Nico asked curiously.

Percy sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll tell you later. Right now, I just want you getting a look at your new job."

"What else is there to look at?"

"I'm going to take you to see the girls in a little bit."

"Are they down that other hall?"

Percy nodded. "Yep, we'll go see them soon. Just get situated here." Percy pointed at the Lost Boys surrounding them. "Keep an eye on him for a moment. I need to go see Leo about some business."

"We'll take good care of him, Percy," the Stolls said with a grin. They wrapped their arms around Nico's shoulders as Percy walked off. He looked back to give them a pointed look, but they didn't seem bothered by it. They led Nico over to the couch and made him sit down.

"You two need to go finish getting ready," Apollo mumbled. The twins groaned but walked off. Apollo plopped down on the couch next to Nico, who shifted uncomfortably. He was fully aware that Apollo was still only in a jockstrap. Apollo grinned at Nico and leaned in closer, placing his arm behind Nico. "Nico, you seem uncomfortable. This isn't _distracting _for you, is it?" Nico shivered as Apollo spoke. Apollo leaned back, looking proud of himself.

"Is everyone around here such a tease?"

Apollo shrugged. "It's what we're good at. Why not use our strengths to our advantage? You'll find that people are pretty easy to manipulate when you're naked in their bed."

"Wh-What?" Nico asked in confusion. Apollo's eyes widened and he covered his mouth.

"You didn't hear that."

"Why are you in their beds?"

Apollo sighed. "I really didn't mean to let that slip." He ran a hand through his blond locks. "Oh well, Percy was going to tell you later anyways. We do more than strip. For the right price, customers can get some...private time with us."

"You have sex with those people?" Nico asked in shock.

Apollo nodded. "A very expensive price, but yes, we do that sometimes."

Nico thought back to his conversation with Apollo at the beach. "That's what your ex came here for, wasn't it?"

Apollo sighed and nodded. "Well, he didn't come here looking for me, but when he saw me, he paid Percy and had me go to his room. I hated him for it, but it was part of the job. I could have told Percy, but I didn't want to make a big deal out of it." Apollo glanced over at Nico. "I'm sorry about the other night. You weren't supposed to see that."

Nico shrugged. "It's okay."

Apollo bit his lip. "You like him, don't you?" Nico sat there for a moment in silence. He nodded his head once to answer Apollo. Apollo sighed. "I'm sorry, Nico, but it'll be something you'll have to deal with around here. Even if you are lucky enough to draw Percy's interest, you'll never have him exclusively."

"I know," Nico whispered. The twins returned from their performance and headed over to get something to drink. Apollo stood up and grinned down at Nico.

"Well, I'm on next. Wish me luck."

Nico tossed him a small smile. "Good luck." Nico's cheeks darkened as his eyes traveled down to Apollo's exposed rear.

"Having fun?" Nico jumped at the sound of Percy's voice in his ear. He looked up to see Percy grinning down at him. Percy's eyes traveled over to where Apollo was walking out on stage. "Admiring Apollo's backside?"

"N-No," Nico stuttered.

Percy leaned in closer, just inches from Nico's face. "I'll give you something better to look at tomorrow." Nico opened and closed his mouth a few times, unable to find any words to respond to that. Percy laughed and pulled Nico off the couch. "Come on, I'm going to take you over to see the girls."

Nico followed after Percy as he headed out the door. He followed Percy across the room and down the stairs. They traveled past Ethan and Clarisse, heading down the opposite hall. They traveled up another set of stairs and came into a similar room to the boys' side. The lights on the stage were off, only revealing the shadowy figures of girls on stage.

Percy pulled Nico over to a booth and they slid into it. Piper headed over to their booth, but Percy waved her off. Nico looked back at the stage as he heard snapping. One girl stood in the center of the others, who were all lying on the floor. The girls lying down all had an arm raised in the air and were snapping their fingers. The lights finally came on the stage, revealing Annabeth standing in the center of the girls. She was dressed in a black corset and white fishnet stockings, her hair had been curled to look even more like a princess.

The song _Welcome to Burlesque_ started to play from the speakers. Annabeth let her hand play with the edges of her corset, as the girls on the floor sat up. Nico could make out Silena, Thalia, Calypso, and another girl that he didn't recognize. Percy leaned over to whisper in Nico's ear. "That's Hazel." The girl was dark skinned, doubtlessly of African descent. She had long, curly golden-brown hair that fell around her shoulders. Her eyes looked like they were made of gold. She looked to be around Nico's height, maybe an inch shorter.

Annabeth guided her hand down towards Thalia, and seemed to pull the black haired girl up with an invisible thread. The girls all stood up and started swaying their hips with the slow music. They all stood around Annabeth, placing a hand on the girl. At the words "Give it to the band" they all stomped their foot in unison.

Nico was mesmerized by their movements. He could definitely see the entertainment in this. The girls all turned around and shook their butts as Annabeth raised a finger to her lips. Hazel walked up to Annabeth and bent over in front of her. A few words were changed in the song to fit better. They took out the triplets line and changed it to these girls, and the name Georgia to Silena. All the girls took a step forward and made a come hither motion.

Annabeth grabbed her breasts as all the girls struck a pose for a brief moment. The girls all crouched down around Annabeth and thrust their lower bodies forward at just the right moments. Each of them lined up along the stage as Annabeth walked behind them. Nico gaped as he watched Silena stick her leg straight up in the air. Annabeth grabbed it and stood next to the girl. They all struck a final pose as the song came to an end, clapping sounded throughout the room.

Percy pulled Nico's attention back to him by waving a hand in front of his face. "Are you sure you're gay?" he said jokingly.

"Yes, I'm sure!" Nico cried, cheeks darkening. "I've just never seen anything like this before."

Percy shrugged. "You get used to it. Do you want to head backstage, or watch more?"

Nico shrugged. "It's up to you."

Percy nodded and stood up. "We'll head backstage. It's getting close to closing time, and I have something else to show you after this." Nico stood up and followed after Percy as he headed for the backstage door. Nico found himself in a similar room to the one on the boy's side. The girls were all sitting around at mirrors, fixing their make-up. As they walked past, Percy slapped Thalia on her butt. "Get a move on girls."

The girls all looked their way at the sound of Percy's voice. "Nico!" they all cried in unison. They abandoned their mirrors and scurried over to the two boys. Annabeth strolled over to them and arched an eyebrow at Percy, who huffed. Hazel tugged on Nico's shirt, drawing his attention to her.

"Hi, Nico, I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting yet, I'm Hazel," the curly haired girl said.

Nico smiled at her and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you," Nico replied.

Annabeth shifted her eyes away from Percy and looked at Nico. "So, Nico, I take it you will finally be joining the Lost Kids?" the blonde asked.

Nico nodded his head. "Yeah, I guess so. That was pretty awesome out there."

Thalia smirked and flicked a hand through her hair. "That's 'cause we are good at what we do."

"You didn't have a problem with it?" Annabeth asked, raising a brow.

Nico shrugged. "No? Why would I?"

"Because we are strippers?"

"But you didn't take your clothes off."

"For that number, next one, we show them what we're working with," Thalia said, lifting her breasts. Nico's face darkened, causing the girls to giggle at him.

"Alright, whoever is up next needs to get a move on," Percy said. Annabeth and Thalia walked back to their mirrors to finish getting ready.

"So, when is he going to go on stage, Percy?" Calypso asked.

Percy crossed his arms and shrugged. Nico looked up at him curiously. Percy was acting strange. He didn't seem happy. "Don't know. He'll start training when he gets back from school tomorrow. The boys are going to work with him all week. I'll give him a week or two, I suppose, and see how he does."

Silena pinched Nico's cheek playfully. He scowled and knocked her hand away, making the girls smile at him. "He's so cute, I'm sure he'll bring in some big bucks," Hazel stated.

Percy looked down at Nico, catching the way the smaller boy was looking at him. Percy sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Alright, all of you get back to work. I'm going to take him to the security room for the rest of the night," Percy said. The girls winked at Nico before they cackled and walked off.

Percy walked off. Nico followed him to a black door in the back. Percy pushed through it and the two walked down a dark hallway. "What's back here?" Nico asked in a hushed voice.

"This is where the kids get their real money," Percy replied. They walked down the dark hallway until they reached another door. Percy pulled out his keycard and slid it through a slot. He reached down and opened the door, gesturing for Nico to go in. Nico complied and walked inside. Percy closed the door behind them and sat down in a chair. Percy clicked on some buttons and the TV screens lit up. Nico sat down in a chair next to Percy and looked at the screens.

They were showing a bunch of rooms. Each of them had a bed in it. Some had weirder things inside them, like whips and gags hanging on the wall. Each of the beds had sets of handcuffs on the headboard and footboard. Each of the rooms also had a chair placed in the corner of the room. Nico really didn't understand what he was looking at. Percy had reclined back in his chair and propped his feet up on the control panel.

Nico's eyes instantly shifted to one of the screens as the door opened. Apollo strutted into the room, in his jockstrap, and plopped down on the bed. A man followed in behind him and shut the door. A red light appeared at the bottom of the screen as soon as they entered. Apollo motioned for the man to come sit on the bed with him. As soon as the man was seated, Apollo straddled him and started attacking the man's neck.

Nico looked away to look at Percy in question. "What is this?" Nico asked.

"The Lost Kids don't just strip. For the right price, you can get some private time with them," Percy replied. He reached over and picked up a remote. He clicked a button on it to mute the volume on the TVs.

"Why is there a security camera in there?"

"Well, one reason is to make sure my employees aren't mistreated. Another reason is to collect information."

"Information?"

"Yeah, these are important people. My boss values the price of information." Percy looked back at the screen. "Watch."

Nico looked back at the screen. Apollo had removed the man's clothing already. The man lay back on the bed while Apollo still straddled him. The man's hands were firmly in place on Apollo's round ass. Apollo leaned in closer to whisper in the man's ear. The man shrugged back and said something to Apollo. "What are they doing?"

"Apollo and the others have a job to do in there, besides giving them a good time. Their job is to extract important information from the client. It helps us keep leverage on the people that come here to do business." Percy kept his eyes trained on the screen. "You'll find this is a very rough business. You do what you can to keep everyone else in line."

"Am I going to be doing this?" Nico asked, gesturing to the monitor.

Percy's lips formed a thin line. "No. You are just going to go on that stage and do what you saw out there."

Nico cocked his head to the side. "Why am I being treated different?"

Percy glanced over at him for a brief second before returning his eyes to the screen. "You are underage for one thing."

"I didn't think something like that would bother you. Is that the only reason?"

Percy chuckled. "You know, maybe you got what it takes for this stuff after all. You're not going into one of those rooms, though." Percy looked at Nico as the smaller boy frowned at him. "Why are you complaining? I'm keeping you from selling your body for money. I didn't have a choice like that. I'm giving you one. I expected you would be more appreciative of that gesture."

"I-I am. It's not that I'm ungrateful. I just..." Nico trailed off.

"You just what?" Percy asked, leaning closer to Nico.

Nico shook his head. "Nothing." He looked back at the monitor, but quickly looked away. Apollo and that man were already in the middle of sex.

"I really don't get you sometimes, Nico."

"Why is that?"

"I figured you'd be freaking out the moment you found out this was a strip club, but then you said you wanted to do it too."

"So? I'm not a little kid."

Percy chuckled. "You're pretty much as innocent as they come, Nico." Nico pouted at him. "Don't take offense, I didn't mean it in a bad way."

"Do you see me as a kid?" Percy didn't respond. "Well?"

Percy sighed and ruffled his own hair.

Nico frowned but decided to let it go. "Can I get to know more about you?"

Percy glanced at him from the corner of his eye, clearly hesitant. "I suppose."

"How did you end up on the streets?"

Percy frowned at him. "Who told you I was on the streets?"

Nico's eyes widened at the fear of having gotten someone in trouble. "I-No one. I-I didn't mean to get anyone in trouble. I-I was just curious."

Percy studied him for a moment before opening his mouth to talk. "My mother died when I was really little. I didn't even know who my dad was back then. I didn't learn what had happened until after Gaea took me in. He had walked out on my mom when she was pregnant with me. She tried to take care of us the best she could, but she just couldn't make it one day. The little money she managed to pull in all went to feeding me. She starved herself to take care of me. The foster system came to take me in after that, but I ran away after the first home they sent me to."

"How old were you?"

"I was about seven. It seems like so long ago. If Gaea hadn't pulled my birth certificate I wouldn't even have remembered how old I was. I just lost track of time while on the streets. All I knew was when it was day and when it was night. I knew when it changed seasons, but everything just kind of ran together in my mind. Keeping track of how old I was didn't seem important. All I cared about was survival."

Nico unconsciously scooted his chair closer to Percy. "How did Gaea find you?"

"I think I was around fourteen when she found me. She just stumbled across me on the streets; a starving, savage kid that probably would have killed her for the clothes on her back, which would have sold for a lot. I didn't, because I was sick. It was the middle of winter and I had come down with a bad case of the flu. She didn't even tell one of her bodyguards to pick me up, she did it herself. Didn't even hesitate, just picked me right up and sat me in her limo. Carried me to the hospital and had me taken care of. She faked some paperwork and made it appear like I was her son."

"She did that for you?"

Percy nodded. "After I was released, she brought me back here, which was the first hotel she had set up in America. She told me she wanted me to stick with her, that if I did, I could go places. She said I wouldn't have to live on the streets anymore, and that I would end up looking down on all of the people who refused to feed me or give me shelter. That I would be able to- uh, you know what? Let's not go into that." Percy gave him a smile.

"What else do you have to hide? You've already shown me all of this, why keep being mysterious?"

Percy grinned at him. "Well, I think there's something sexy about the air of mystery, wouldn't you agree, Nico?" Percy said, leaning very close to Nico.

"I–I–Uh–I–"

Percy grinned and sat back in his chair. Nico's gaze traveled back to the monitors. Two of the other rooms had become occupied. Thalia had entered one room and Calypso had entered another. Thalia's room was one of the rooms with whips in them. She had changed into some tight leather outfit and was currently holding the whip from the wall in her hand. She cracked the whip and pointed at the bed. The man in her room cringed, but made his way over to the bed.

Nico looked back at Percy to take his mind off of what was happening. "You used to do all of this?"

Percy nodded, watching the monitors. "Yeah, up until Gaea left me in charge here. Now I don't have to."

"But you still have to have sex with the Lost Kids."

Percy shrugged, glancing at Nico. "Why does that bother you?"

Nico's face darkened. "N-No reason." Percy smiled and rubbed his chin.

"Like I said, I'm indifferent about it. I don't go hunting them down to fuck. If they didn't come to me, I wouldn't do it at all." Nico yawned, causing Percy to look away from the screens. "Tired?" Nico nodded. "Alright, let's get you to bed." Percy clicked the monitors off, but Nico noticed the red lights stayed on. Percy noticed Nico still looking at the monitors. "The red lights mean the room is being recorded."

"To make sure you get the information that is shared in the room?" Nico asked.

Percy nodded. Nico walked past Percy, out the door. Percy shut the door behind them and they walked back down the hall. They made their way back to the elevator in silence. Nico shifted uncomfortably in the elevator. Percy walked Nico to his door. Nico pulled his keycard out and slid it into his door, opening it slowly. He stood in his doorway to look at Percy, who leaned against the doorframe.

"Make sure you remember to get to the gym as soon as you're back from school," Percy said, looking at Nico. "You'll train from the time you get back until it's time for work every day."

Nico nodded. He gave Percy a small wave. "Goodnight." Percy smiled back at him and pushed off the doorframe. Nico watched as he walked down the hallway, sliding his hands into his back pockets. Nico shut the door and headed straight for his bathroom to get ready for bed.


	8. Chapter 8

_Why not? I mean, the chapters around this point are a little short, so let's just post a few together. Note to new readers: when I catch up to where I had left off, don't expect so frequent updates. On the subject of new content, I'm going to post a new story as soon as I can think of a title for it, so expect it sometime in the near future. I'd usually wait longer to see if I can take the story anywhere, but I have a good idea on what I want to do with it, so I'm not afraid. I'm going to finish up what was the Halloween fic now and post it as well, so expect that sometime soon as well. I'll for sure have it finished the week after Thanksgiving. I'm going home for the holiday and won't have much to do, so I'm going to spend all of my time reading and writing._

_I'm also going to be spending some time over the next few days simply going over every future chapter in this fic, because I have to censor things. But, like I've said before, you can always go to deviantart and my blog to see the unedited stuff. Which I'd recommend, because the story just doesn't feel like itself being all censored._

_Warning: Language? I really can't remember. Something about wine at the end. Look, it's been a while since I read this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the characters._

Chapter 8

Nico fidgeted at his desk as he watched the time tick by. He was finally getting to join the ranks of the Lost Kids. His training would start today, and Nico found himself oddly nervous. He figured this basically meant that the boys would be standing in front of him the entire time in very little clothing. Then there was the "private lesson" from Percy. Nico really didn't know what to think about that. Why did he need a private lesson? Why was Percy going to be the one giving it? Nico's mind had so many questions running through it.

He was ready for school to be let out so that he could get on with everything. Nico scowled at the clock as he felt a piece of paper hit the back of his head. He turned around in his seat to glare at his bully, who he had learned was named Cal.

"What?" Cal asked with an annoying grin on his face. Nico just rolled his eyes and turned back around. He didn't feel like putting up it. Nico placed his chin on his palm, supporting his head. Maybe he should take Percy up on that offer to fix his problem. Nico growled under his breath when he felt another piece of paper hit the back of his head.

Three o'clock finally rolled around, releasing Nico from his day of school. He walked to his locker and put away the books he didn't need. Closing his locker, he made his way outside. Nico walked out the front door and immediately hit the pavement. Cal and his brother, Zethes, laughed at him. Nico glared at them as he pulled himself up. He spotted Apollo's red car in the parking lot. Deciding just to walk away, Nico headed towards the car.

Not going to leave Nico be, Zethes and Cal followed after him. "Where you going, homo?" Cal jeered at him.

"Wait, don't get too close, Cal. You might catch the gay," Zethes added with a smirk.

Nico kept walking, though. He didn't feel like putting up with them anymore today. He was just ready to get back to the Lotus. He heard Cal growl behind him. Cal grabbed Nico's shoulder and spun him around. "Where the fuck do you think you're going, faggot? You pay attention when I talk to you."

Nico heard a car door slam very loudly behind him. A firm arm yanked him out of Cal's grasp. Apollo stepped in front of Nico, letting his height tower over the two bullies. "Do we have a problem here?" Apollo asked hatefully. Nico peered around Apollo's form to stare at Zethes and Cal. The two were glaring up at the blond, but weren't making a move. "If you are done with my friend here, I believe I'll get him home."

Zethes tapped Cal's shoulder and the two spun around and walked off. Apollo stood his ground in front of Nico until the two were far enough out of sight. Apollo spun around and tugged on Nico's arm, dragging him towards the car. Nico climbed in as Apollo started the car and floored it out of the parking lot.

"Why haven't you said anything about being bullied?" Apollo asked harshly, placing his sunglasses over his eyes.

"It's nothing I can't handle," Nico shot back. "I'm big enough to take care of myself."

"Clearly. Is that why you were letting them push you around? You better be glad I was the one picking you up. If it had been Percy, he would have broken their arms."

"Why would he do that?"

"Because he doesn't like people harming us." An awkward silence fell over the two after that. Nico leaned his head against the window. Part of him couldn't help but still feel jealous of the fact that Apollo had had sex with Percy. The rational part of his brain tried reminding him that it was part of the blond's job. In the end, it really didn't matter, though. Percy would never be his. As the others had said, Percy never let himself get attached to anyone.

Nico was feeling anxious about all of this. He had never done anything like this before. Percy had been the first person to see him naked since he was a little baby. He felt nervous about having to expose himself on stage. No. He didn't have to do this, he had chose it. Why, though?

Was it Luke's cocky attitude? Did he want to be part of the "family" that the Lost Kids had? He wasn't being peer pressured, though. He could never blame any of the others for pushing him. All of them had warned him. They had all tried to ward him away the best they could, but he hadn't listened. Nico knew he probably could have said no and everything would have gone back to normal. There was just some part of him wanted to do it. Percy.

He wanted to prove himself to Percy. He wanted to show the young man that he was not a little kid. He wanted Percy to at least treat him like the others. Nico felt his cheeks heat up at the thought. Even though it wouldn't be a special first time, Nico kind of wanted Percy to have sex with him like he did with the others.

Nico retracted his head from the window at the sound of thunder. He looked up at the stormy clouds forming in the sky. "Excited to start your lessons?" Apollo asked as they pulled into the parking garage.

Nico looked over at him and shrugged. "I guess. I've never done anything like this before. I'm kind of nervous about exposing my body."

Apollo parked the car, turned it off, and turned to face Nico. "You'll get used to it. Don't worry. You're probably not going to get touched very much if you're just getting on stage. Count yourself lucky in that regard."

"Percy showed me the security room last night." Nico wasn't sure why he blurted that out. His cheeks darkened when Apollo raised an eyebrow at him.

A smirk formed across Apollo's lips. "Did you enjoy the show?" Putting some distance between him and Apollo, Nico got out of the car, heading for the elevator. Apollo got out and chased after him. "I'm only teasing," Apollo said once they were in the elevator. "Let that be your first lesson today. You'll need to learn how to talk like the rest of us."

"What do you mean?"

"Everything out of your mouth, pretty much, needs to be flirtatious." Apollo hit the button to their floor and they began to ascend. "It's not as easy as it looks, but once you get the hang of it, you'll do it without thinking about it. But you can always act like yourself when you're just around the rest of us, like on our off days."

"I'm not going to be getting a lap dance, am I?"

Apollo chuckled and leaned into Nico. "Only if you want one," he said with a wink. Apollo tugged on a lock of his hair. "I think you'll have fun today."

"No orgies," Nico mumbled as they exited the elevator. Apollo chuckled and followed Nico to his suite. Once inside, Nico dropped his stuff off. "Do I need to wear anything in particular?"

"Loose clothing I guess. You can dress like you do when we go workout. Speaking of which, I need to run and change."

Nico waved as the blond walked back out the door. Nico headed for his bedroom, searching for some clean workout clothes. Finding a pair of black track shorts and a red shirt, Nico began changing clothes.

After he was done, Nico grabbed his phone and card before exiting his room. He walked out into the hallway just as Apollo and Will exited their room. Will's hair was wet, as he had probably just exited the shower. Nico learned to stop questioning the Lost Kids' sleeping habits weeks ago. Given their late hours, they got as much sleep as they could. Will gave Nico a small wave as the three headed back towards the elevator. "Hey there, Nico," Will said with a yawn.

The three of them boarded the elevator and Will hit the button to their desired destination. Will stretched and popped his back as they waited. Nico couldn't help but let his eyes wander over to Will's exposed stomach as his shirt rode up. It was sort of unfair how perfect all of their bodies were. That wasn't to say that Nico's body was anything to be ashamed of. It was nice to finally be able to look at himself in the mirror.

"So, Nico, how are you feeling about getting on stage?" Will asked, trying to break the silence.

"A little nervous. I'm not really used to all of this stuff," Nico answered, blushing lightly.

Apollo and Will looked at each for a moment. "Nico, are you a virgin?" Apollo asked bluntly.

Nico's face lit up like a tomato. "Yes," he mumbled under his breath, but the two blonds still heard him.

"That's so cute!" Will said. "Too bad you aren't working the back rooms. The price for virginity is pretty high." If it was possible, Nico turned a darker shade of red.

"I'm going to guess you know jack shit about seduction," Apollo said.

Nico buried his face in his hands. "I just never found the right person," Nico mumbled into his hands. "My mom and sister kind of drilled it into my head that I should wait."

"Why?" the two blonds said in unison.

"Sex is fun," Will added. "It's a nice stress reliever."

The elevator door opened before Nico could reply and the three headed down to the private part of the gym the Lost Kids used. When they arrived they found the rest of the Lost Boys lined up against the nearest wall. They all were fidgeting nervously as they watched something in fear. Nico turned his head to find Percy pacing on the other side of the room. He was on the phone with someone and was clearly not pleased. His jaw was firmly set and his eyes blazed with anger. He was speaking what Nico thought sounded like German, which made him sound even angrier.

Apollo pressed a hand to Nico's back, pushing the boy into the room. Apollo shut the door behind them and the three new arrivals went over to stand quietly with the others. "What's up?" Apollo whispered to Beckendorf.

"Gaea called. She's not happy about something," Beckendorf answered, keeping his eyes on Percy's fuming form.

With a huff, Percy bid the woman goodbye and hung up the phone. He rubbed a hand across his mouth. Leo stood a few feet away from Percy, stepping up to the angry black haired boy once he placed the phone in his pocket. "What was that about?" Leo asked.

"It seems we have a problem. Gaea just informed me that Zeus has set up a similar business a few blocks away. It doesn't quite have the sophistication of the Lotus, but it still is a thorn in our side," Percy replied, cracking his neck. "I'm going to have to deal with that fucking bastard if he doesn't get the hint. I swear, he's like a damn cockroach."

"I'll get upstairs and see what I can find."

Percy nodded. Leo spun on his heel and jogged out of the room. Percy paced for a few more moments as the room stayed silent. Percy finally sighed and looked up at the group of boys. "I need to go take care of this. I want you guys to get Nico started while I'm gone. I'll be back later to check in on things." All of the Lost Boys nodded their head as Percy walked towards the door. Nico blinked as he looked around at them. It was amazing that one boy could strike fear into each one of them, especially given the fact that Butch and Beckendorf were bigger than Percy, both in musculature stature and height.

Apollo cleared his throat and stepped forward. He clapped his hands so everyone's attention was on him. "So, let's get started," Apollo said. Will walked over and got a chair, placing it in the center of the room. Apollo gestured for Nico to sit down. Nico hesitantly made his way over and sat down in the offered chair. "Don't be scared, Nico. We're not going to hurt you. Plus, clothes will be staying on for this...well possibly anyways."

Travis walked over to a speaker. He picked up an iPod off of the top of it. He hit play and the room was filled with music. The Lost Boys all scattered around the room, forming a jumbled circle.

"Alright, where shall we begin?" Apollo pondered, stepping behind Nico's chair. Nico could still see Apollo in the mirror that lined the wall in front of him, though. He leaned down to place his head a few inches above Nico's shoulder. "All of those people that you will see out there are here for one purpose. They want to see you. You're fulfilling their wildest fantasies."

"You're the husband they never had," Octavian added, coming up to Nico's other side.

"You are the dream boat guy that never came along," Travis said from Apollo's other side.

Luke came to stand in front of Nico. He leaned down and pressed his palms to Nico's legs. "You're the one night stand that they get to have with you any night, on stage, whenever they want," Luke added. Nico gulped as he looked around at the four guys surrounding him. He had to become like them. He had to do this so he could prove he wasn't a child.

"You'll need an angle," Will said, leaning on Luke's shoulder. "Well, I guess the innocent type fits the best. You'll be a natural." All the Lost Boys chuckled. Nico frowned at their amusement.

"Well, what's each of your angles?" Nico asked. All of the boys lined up in front of Nico.

"We are a little bit of everything. It's good to have diversity when it comes to the variety of customers. That way you can have whatever they want. All they need to do is pick one of us from the group," Apollo said, leaning on Octavian's shoulder. "Of course, you could go with the hot blonds." Apollo gestured to himself, Will, Octavian, and Luke.

"There's also the brothers," Luke said, pointing at himself and Octavian.

"Or the twins," the Stolls said.

"I like to think of myself as that dream boat guy," Apollo said with a grin. "But I give off the beach vibe. I'm also the musician of the group and I incorporate that into some of my performances."

Octavian ran a hand through his hair, giving Nico a seductive look. "You could always have me and have your brain stimulated before I fuck your brains out," Octavian said with a wink, "or you could fuck my brains out. I also work in the kink room."

"What's that?" Nico asked, cocking his head to the side.

All of the boys grinned. "Well, some of the customers just like a...more interesting touch."

"If you were in the security room, you saw the rooms with whips and stuff, yes?" Apollo asked. Nico nodded. "That's what he does."

"Some of us specialize in that. It's quite fun," Octavian said with a wide grin. "I do very well with a lot of politicians."

"Like my brother, I work in the kink department too," Luke said. "Everyone loves the bad boy, especially one with a scar." Luke strolled up to Nico. He leaned down, coming mere inches from Nico's face. He grabbed some of Nico's hair and pulled Nico's head back. "I'm also quite good at domination."

Butch and Beckendorf walked forward. Luke spun around and walked back to the line. "If you like the muscular type, look no farther," Beckendorf said with a grin.

"We get a lot of clients that like to be dominated," Butch added. "We get a lot of requests to fuck people up against walls. I work down in the kink room as well."

The twins grinned as Beckendorf and Butch walked back to the line. They held hands as they walked out towards Nico. Travis wrapped an arm around Connor's waist as Connor wrapped his arms around Travis's neck. "You'd be surprised at what people like. We're pretty good at threesomes," Travis said, winking at Nico. "We both work down in the kink room too."

Connor nuzzled his brother's neck. "People also think it's hot when we have sex together," Connor said, grinning at Nico. "So we bump up our brotherly love while we are working around the hotel." The two detached themselves from each other and made their way back to the line of Lost Boys.

Will stepped forward. He placed a finger below Nico's chin, tilting Nico's head up to look him in the eyes. "Other than you, I'm the youngest of the group. People like the twinks," Will said, leaning in very close to Nico. "You'll find out really fast that most of the customers like the young look." Will dropped his finger and stepped back from Nico. "Like Apollo, I give off the beach boy vibe, with a slight hint of the 'All American boy' look."

The boys scattered around the room once again. "He also needs to learn how to talk," Apollo said, running a hand through his hair.

"That's not so hard," Connor stated. He looked down at Nico. "You just remember that everything you say needs to be seductive. You can say whatever the fuck you want when it's just around us or at school, but you have to watch what you say around here."

"Every word out of your mouth needs to be enticing," Travis added.

"You need to mesmerize them not only with your words, but with your eyes," said Luke. "You need to make sure they are paying attention to you."

"Learn to move your body just right," Will said, sitting down on the floor. "Every move that your body makes needs to draw the eye."

"You have to walk with an air of confidence," Beckendorf stated, patting Nico on the back.

"Always keep eye contact," suggested Butch.

"They need to be the one squirming in their seat, not you," Travis stated, pulling Connor into his lap.

"You need to be arousing," Apollo said with a wink. "You need to be able to stimulate them with your eyes and your mind. Even the sound of your voice needs to be alluring."

"Don't think that they own you, though. If they ever lay a finger on you, they will find themselves in deep shit," Connor said with a crooked grin.

"You are the one that initiates contact, not them," Luke said, pointing a finger at Nico. "The only time they are allowed to touch one of us first is in the private rooms."

"The only time they are allowed to touch you on the floor is when they slip you money," Octavian added, leaning against the wall.

"That reminds me," Apollo said, snapping his fingers. "We'll need to take him to get some accessories and shit."

"What?" Nico asked. He didn't like the sound of that.

"Things like speedos, special outfits, et cetera."

"Don't look so scared, Neeks," Connor said. "It'll be fun. We can have bonding time while we get to look at you in various articles of skimpy clothing." Nico's cheeks lit up.

The door to the room opened and Percy stepped inside. He looked to have calmed down from earlier. All of boys seemed to relax upon realizing that. "How's it going?" Percy asked, leaning against the wall next to the door.

"He'll be a natural in no time!" Travis exclaimed with a grin.

Percy rolled his eyes. "What did you cover?" he asked, addressing Apollo.

Apollo blew his lips. "The basics," the blond answered. "We covered our specialties, how he should speak, the way he should walk, and we're going to make plans to go get him outfitted."

Percy nodded. "Alright. I suppose that'll be good for today. All of you can go get ready for work." All of the boys picked themselves up and headed towards the door. Percy pressed a hand to Nico's chest as the boy made his way to the door. Percy leaned in to whisper in Nico's ear. "Where do you think you're going? I told you I was going to give you a private lesson." Nico felt his face heat up. Percy pushed Nico back down in his chair.

"Wh-What kind of private lesson?" Nico stuttered.

Percy grinned down at him. "I'm going to teach you how to apply what they told you." Percy's fingers reached to the hem of his shirt, pulling the fabric up and over his head. Nico's eyes became saucers as he stared at Percy's flawless body. Percy's torso was perfect. It was lean and toned in just the right way. His tanned skin didn't have a blemish on it. "Now then, I believe you should already be able to pick up on the proper way to talk. All you had to do was pay attention to the way we usually speak. I don't strip anymore, but I still talk like them when in public. You'd be surprised at how cooperative people can be when you can work seduction properly."

"Can you give me an example anyways?"

Percy flipped his hair out of his eyes. He leaned down, close to Nico's ear. "What kind of example would you like, Nico?" Percy whispered seductively. Nico shivered at the feel of Percy's breath on his neck. Percy snapped his fingers. "That reminds me. You need to learn how to interact properly. You will only touch the customers very rarely. You need to learn how to seduce them without touching them."

Nico cocked his head to the side. "I'm lost."

Percy took one of his hands and trailed it up Nico's arm, not letting it touch the skin. Nico convulsed as he felt Percy's fingers brush over the hairs on his arm. He could feel Percy's warmth on him. Nico's eyes flickered up to Percy's exposed chest. His skin looked so amazing. Nico wanted to reach up and touch it. Unconsciously, Nico's hand rose and started reaching out for Percy. Percy slapped his hand away. He grasped the hair on the back of Nico's head and pulled Nico's head back, exposing Nico's neck. Percy straddled Nico's waist, without sitting in the boy's lap. He leaned in close, letting his lips graze the soft skin of Nico's neck. Nico felt his body heating up. Percy blew against his skin, making Nico shiver.

Nico looked up into Percy's eyes as the taller boy pulled away. Nico let out a quiet moan at the look in Percy's eyes. He felt himself leaning forward while Percy leaned forward. Percy pressed him back against the chair as he finally sat down on Nico's lap. He held Nico's arms against the the sides of the chair. Percy continued to lean in, bringing his lips mere inches from Nico's lips. Nico's eyes had closed of their own accord. Nico could feel his heart pounding against his chest, which was rising and falling heavily. Right before making contact, Percy leaned back, face returning to normal. "Were you taking notes?" he said with a grin.

Nico groaned, letting his head fall back. Percy stood back up and circled Nico. "That was totally unfair," Nico mumbled. Percy just smiled at him and ruffled his hair.

"You need to learn to do that." Percy finally came to a stop in front of Nico again. "It'll get easier over time. You just need to get the hang of it." Percy reached a hand out and helped Nico stand up. "You should also start trying to walk properly. I want to see you start to strut and shake your ass." Percy winked at him. "If eyes don't stare at your ass as you walk away, you're doing it wrong. Oh, and never crouch down to pick something up again, bend over." Percy looked up at the clock. "Alright, I think that'll be all for today. I'll let you go get changed."

Nico gave Percy a smile. "Thanks again," Nico said walking towards the door. He stopped when Percy spoke again.

"One more thing."

"Yeah?"

"Don't lose that innocence of yours in all of this," Percy said, offering him a smile.

* * *

Nico sat at the table with Hazel, Zoë, Octavian, and Thalia. Hazel was finally going to be working in the bar with Nico, which made him happy. He wanted to get to know her and Butch better since he just recently met them. The group was currently eating a dinner, making small talk from time to time. "So, how was he today, Octavian?" Thalia said around a bite of food.

Octavian glanced up at Nico momentarily. "He's alright. All he had to do was sit and listen today," the blond responded.

"I'm sure he's a fast learner," Hazel said with a smile.

"I am impressed he has taken it all so well," Zoë said. "I figured being so innocent, he would have freaked out."

"I'm not a kid," Nico said with a pout.

"Yeah, that doesn't help your case, Nico," Thalia joked. "You should start practicing on customers tonight. At least work on how you walk and talk."

"Try practicing walking in your suite," Zoë suggested.

"Work on your facial expressions in front of a mirror," Octavian said, taking a bite of his food.

"Facial expressions?" Nico asked.

"Yes," Thalia said. "You need to look at them just right, as I'm sure the boys told you." Nico nodded. "Everything about your face has to be just right."

"You need to learn to seduce someone with just a glance," Hazel added.

"So, how does it feel to be a Lost Boy?"

"Is he one yet?" Octavian commented. "Let's wait until we see him on stage first." He glanced over at Nico. "No offense."

"None taken, I guess," Nico mumbled.

"Don't worry, Nico. You're assured a spot. You just got to get on that stage and shake your ass," Thalia said with a wink.

"Well, we need to be getting to work," Zoë stated. Her, Octavian, and Thalia stood up and bid Hazel and Nico goodbye. Nico looked over at Hazel, who smiled back at him. Nico liked her already, she kind of reminded him of Bianca.

"So what's your story, Hazel?" Nico asked, taking a drink.

Hazel set her napkin on the table, finished eating her food. "Well, I grew up in New Orleans with my mom," Hazel answered.

"You're a long way from home."

Hazel nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. "My mom, she wasn't that nice of a person. Selling her own body for money was one thing, but then she started selling mine. I was just a kid when she started doing that, only twelve. I felt sick with myself most nights. I threw up after every time it happened. I felt so disgusted with myself. I grew to hate my mother. I didn't understand how a mother could do that to their own child."

"I'm so sorry," Nico whispered.

Hazel shrugged. "She ended up moving us to a pretty bad neighborhood. Those sex offender websites don't always come in handy. I'll just say that we had a very extensive client list built from our neighbors."

"That's so horrible."

"It's in the past. I managed to get some money while my mom was gone one day. After that, I high tailed it out of there. Hitchhiked my way all the way out here. Spent a year on the streets before Percy found me. I was more than eager enough to take the job. Considering my past, it wasn't anything new for me to do."

Nico finished eating his food, needing to hurry and get to work. The two stood up and walked out of the hotel's restaurant. They boarded the elevator and Nico hit the button for the bar. "Hopefully I can get used to all of this like the rest of you."

"I'm sure you will. You have all of us to help you learn. We're a family here, Nico. We look out for each other." Nico let a smile spread across his face at Hazel's comforting words. Maybe things wouldn't be so bad here. He had a new family to help take care of him.

* * *

_I found a very good song for Nico, both in the books and for the new story I'm working on. Demons by Imagine Dragons. There's a nice tribute video on Youtube. You can go find it by searching: Nico di Angelo-Demons. It should be the first one. Remember to keep an eye out for a new story over the next few days, I just need to name the thing. It won't feel like it probably in the first chapter or two, but it's going to be dark and sort of demented, just not flat out gore like I do for Halloween. I would mention something to give you an idea of the feel of it, but then I'd give it away. But Nico will be like Luke in this story. Meaning that he will be a very deep character that I think people will enjoy reading about. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Always feel free to review, alert, and favorite. Until next time, I'm going to find something to do._


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